Four years ago today ...

i-abcf06afa51a1392ba062c491bc6c64c-mission-accomplished.jpg

Four years ago on this day, Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

In the following three years, over 2,150 US troops died. That's ~716 per year.

On this day last year, Scott McClellan, when asked whether the mission has been accomplished, replied "We are on the way to accomplishing the mission and achieving victory."

In the past 365 days, a further 946 soldiers have died, bringing the total to 3344.

We're on the way to something ... victory ain't it.

Tags

More like this

As of today, 2,401 US soldiers dead; over 2,150 since "major combat operations" were declared to be finished. Over 34,000 civilian deaths. Glad it's working out so well for everyone. Edit: I'll note that Scott McClellan, when asked today whether the mission has been accomplished, replied "We are…
Last year a few of us did this - basic idea is to reproduce the first sentence of the first post every month over the past year. I’m going to ignore "Today in Science" posts. Let’s see what we got ... What is this mystery beast captured on film in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan,…
And so, 5 years after President Bush declared that "major combat operations in Iraq are over," the 4,374th coalition soldier has died in Iraq. The evidence continues to support my contention that the surge hasn't done much or anything to stem the tide of violence, and that the lull in violence…
On this day when we remember our war dead, it's worth looking back at the when and the how of the 3455 US military fatalities in Iraq, 100 of them soldiers from Fort Riley. Rates of woundings and fatalities in Iraq show the same pattern, a sharp rise in fatalities and woundings since roughly last…

It's worth noting that the non-War in Iraq has gone on longer than the US involvement in World War 2. Still, your adopted home is well on its way to another Vietnam...