Iraq : Vietnam Comparisons
So, I was watching CNN or MSNBC tonight and it was some stupid opinion show. I am not a fan of these, I want news, not opinions when I watch these channels. Anyhow, the guy was talking about desertion figures and pointed out that 2006 had only 1/9th the number of desertions by U.S. soldiers as 1971. About 3,200 in 2006 vs. around 31,000 in 1971. I have a number of issues with the way in which this was presented.
A) In Vietnam, by 1971 there was a pretty large number of draftees. These people are by their very nature more likely to desert.
B) At the height of 1971, there were over 280,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the height of 2006 only 156,800. Add a few of the deserters in there and you wind up with about twice the number of troops.
C) 1971 was the highpoinit of desertion, we do not know if 2006 is. Desertion rates increased about 40% from 2005-2006 and appear to be on the rise this year too.
D) In 1971 soldiers knew the war was about to end. We were in the process of withdrawal, Nixon said "The end is near." Many troops did not see the point in continuing to fight if we were leaving anyway. In Iraq, we are sending more troops and the end is not clearly near.
E) Troops were rotated in and out of Vietnam faster than they are in Iraq. Those 280,000 troops at a given time actually consisted of a great deal more over all. In total, 8.7 million Americans were sent to Vietnam vs. about 500,000 to Iraq thus far. That's over 17 times as many troops deployed to Vietnam over a period of eight years compared to the war in Iraq over a period of five years.
I am sure that I have probably made some Iraq-Vietnam comparisons too, but this one really irked me for some reason, because it was implying that a few thousand deserters is not significant.
A) In Vietnam, by 1971 there was a pretty large number of draftees. These people are by their very nature more likely to desert.
B) At the height of 1971, there were over 280,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the height of 2006 only 156,800. Add a few of the deserters in there and you wind up with about twice the number of troops.
C) 1971 was the highpoinit of desertion, we do not know if 2006 is. Desertion rates increased about 40% from 2005-2006 and appear to be on the rise this year too.
D) In 1971 soldiers knew the war was about to end. We were in the process of withdrawal, Nixon said "The end is near." Many troops did not see the point in continuing to fight if we were leaving anyway. In Iraq, we are sending more troops and the end is not clearly near.
E) Troops were rotated in and out of Vietnam faster than they are in Iraq. Those 280,000 troops at a given time actually consisted of a great deal more over all. In total, 8.7 million Americans were sent to Vietnam vs. about 500,000 to Iraq thus far. That's over 17 times as many troops deployed to Vietnam over a period of eight years compared to the war in Iraq over a period of five years.
I am sure that I have probably made some Iraq-Vietnam comparisons too, but this one really irked me for some reason, because it was implying that a few thousand deserters is not significant.