Iraq War 6-year Anniversary Reminder to Not Forget We Will Be There for a Lot Longer

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Chad Rubel 

"I'm sorry, honey. I forgot our anniversary."

Whether it's a stereotype or there is some truth to it, sometimes anniversaries are forgotten. And we sort of forgot the 6th anniversary of Iraq.

We could argue that for the Iraqis, who were bombed on that first fateful day, that it was March 20 for them when it started in the U.S. on March 19. Then again, it's almost March 21 in Iraq when writing this. And we did post headlines about the 6th anniversary.

But where are we as we hit that big 6th anniversary? This is our longest engagement ever -- long past the Civil War, our stints in World War I and World War II. Yes, we weren't involved in the Hundred Years War, so our standards may not be high.

Going into this calendar year, long before hitting the 6-year mark, there was hope that perhaps we wouldn't be in Iraq that much longer. The August 2010 timetable plus the news of keeping 35,000-50,000 soldiers in Iraq doesn't give much light for that hope.

The 6th anniversary symbolically means iron or wood objects, though this site mentions candy. We have plenty of iron still in Iraq. Wood? Maybe a wooden stake that can scare our troops out of Iraq. And candy? Not the time for candy.

But here are some other symbolic reminders of the anniversary.

4,260 U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq

31,217 U.S. Military Maimed in Iraq (source: DoD Update as of March 5, 2009)

99,510 Iraqis Reported Killed (source: Iraq Body Count)

1,320,110 Iraqis Reported Killed (source: justforeignpolicy.org)

We keep track of these statistics (Afghanistan as well) every day in the Afternoon Alert from BuzzFlash. And we will do so until everyone comes home. 

The number of U.S. soldiers injured underscores the depth of those injuries, and that is unfortunate. Countless soldiers have suffered more intense injuries than in wars past.

The idea that the official count of Iraqi dead -- after 6 years -- can be less than 100,000 is stunning and appalling. I'm not convinced the justforeignpolicy.org numbers are completely right either. But their number is a hell of a lot closer to the truth.

We talk about how we need to see proof for our efforts -- something sorely lacking in the Bush Administration. It may seem like there isn't much good to hang from Iraq, especially after six years, but that isn't the fault of our brave soldiers and other personnel in Iraq. If nothing else, it proves they are willing to sacrifice, even if the chain-of-command is grossly mishandled.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT