Ironic, if Anything

. There is no tactful way to say it, but it is nonetheless true that to date we have been more dangerous to ourselves than have the Iraqis. I am not sure of the current numbers, but I think actual combat deaths are in the low single digits, while crashed helicopters, friendly fire and a grenade rolling idiot in US uniform account for the preponderance of the deaths and causalities. In the overall calculus of war this signals success, but there is something profoundly disturbing about those deaths, as they all seem preventable in some way. One expects to have higher risk of death on the battlefield, but helicopter crashes and friendly fire, while just as inevitable a part of war as enemy fire, seem more of a waste.

Posted by Steven Taylor at March 23, 2026 07:45 AM | TrackBack