31 Jul 2003 Quagmire

A note for the blog from hubby, David:

One hundred forty-eight of America’s best died in the line of duty — killed in shoot-outs, accidents or in peace-keeping operations.

Some could call it a quagmire, an unwinnable war, for which the only solution is a quick withdrawal.

But withdrawal is not an option.

You see, the statistics cited are not the number of U.S. servicemen lost in post-war Iraq, but of police officers killed in the line of duty last year here in America. Over the past decade, an average of 165 policemen have died each year, while an additional 15,750 have been injured.

But no one suggests that we withdraw from the war on crime.

Perhaps we should keep this in mind the next time someone suggests that the term “quagmire” be used to describe the Iraq conflict.

True, the U.S. population — and thus the magnitude of the peacekeeping — is about five times that of Iraq.

But then, the U.S. is not technically a war zone.