[Peace-discuss] Casualties

[C. G. Estabrook]

On this Memorial Day, there are apparently people in the
anti-war movement who think that if American casualties get
high enough, the USG will be forced to withdraw from Iraq.

A correspondent writes with some perspective:

"For the record there were 14,589 US military killed in
Vietnam in 1968, the highest number per year of the war.
Meanwhile domestic opposition to the war had only risen to
about 30% in the polls -- in the face of casualty figures that
averaged 280 a week. This cost was justified by the inflated
reports that we were bleeding the VC and North at ten times
that rate, i.e. the war of attrition was winning by the numbers."

Opposition to this war is much higher than that now.  We need
to find ways to bring that to bear on the government.  --CGE