Dick Cheney’s scary math

2004.10.07 — Government | Politics | Campaign 2004 | by Derek Jensen

In the debate Tuesday night, Dick Cheney challenged John Edwards' figures on the casualties suffered in Iraq. It wasn't realistic; it wasn't confidence-building; and it wasn't smart.

The transcript is available on CNN.com.

Edwards said:

You know, we've taken 90 percent of the coalition casualties. American taxpayers have borne 90 percent of the costs of the effort in Iraq.

Cheney was ready with a mathematical parry, if you count Iraq as a member of the "Coalition of the Willing" (COW):

Well, Gwen, the 90 percent figure is just dead wrong. When you include the Iraqi security forces that have suffered casualties, as well as the allies, they've taken almost 50 percent of the casualties in operations in Iraq, which leaves the U.S. with 50 percent, not 90 percent.

Astute readers may have noticed the link we keep on the front page of Tysto, a link which displays, courtesy of Antiwar.com, the casualties we have suffered in Iraq. Iraqi security force casualties are not included in the numbers tracked by Antiwar.com. Neither are they tracked by Icasualties.com. The reason is that they are not reported by the United States Department of Defense... or anyone else, for that matter. I can't find where Dick Cheney is getting his numbers... Ahmad Chalabi?

But let's say he's right.

Let's say that only half of all total allied casualties in Iraq are American. That means that the ISF has suffered just as many casualties as the US and our allies, which itself stands, at the time of this writing, at 1,201.

That means that the total casualties suffered by these allied nations in the Iraq War is 2,402. Is that a number Dick Cheney should be proud of? This was a war to liberate Iraq from a brutal dictator hated by his own people and then keep the peace until elections could fully stabilize the country.... Why have thousands died and several thousand more been grievously wounded?

You want a real peacekeeping mission? Take a look at Bosnia or Kosovo. Zero allied combat casualties. Think Somalia was a tragic failure that should never be repeated? Forty-three allied casualties, just 18 of them American. How about a real war? In Iraq? Ordered by a president named Bush? Only 383 allied casualties.

At the current rate of over 2.1 deaths per day, 64.5 per month, this war is likely to claim 1,256 coalition lives by Election Day, November 2 and 1,425 by Inauguration Day, January 21.

Of course, the rate is not likely to stay at 2.1. Casualty rates are rising. And if they continue to go up—even if they don't approach the level of April, when 150 Americans were killed—then 1,600 coalition troops will have been killed.

Dick Cheney would proudly tell you it's 3,200.

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