Under the Same Sun

Published 3/19/08

By: Kasey Henricks

Five years ago, the statue of Saddam Hussein tumbled to the ground, symbolizing at that moment liberation for the people of Iraq. Today, marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. No celebratory ceremonies have been announced.

The costs of the Iraqi War range broadly. Many analysts tend to focus in terms of dollars. In September 2007, an article in The Washington Post reported: “The war is costing $720 million a day or $500,000 a minute, according to the [American Friends Service Committee's] analysis of the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard public finance lecturer Linda J. Bilmes.”

In addition, a recent column by Bob Herbert of The New York Times reported: “The war in Iraq will ultimately cost U.S. taxpayers not hundreds of billions of dollars, but an astonishing $2 trillion, and perhaps more.”

But is a dollar figure capable of measuring the losses this country has experienced? What about the losses that Iraqis and other bystanders have experienced? As the war reaches the five-year mark, an alternative approach is needed to better address the suffering endured.

Let’s not view Iraq in terms of dollars, but in human lives. Recalling days after the invasion, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was questioned how many American lives will be lost in this war. Rumsfeld responded by saying he could count this number on both hands. He was off.

According to the Department of Defense, approximately 4,000 U.S. servicemen and women have died since March 19, 2003, and over 2,000 of those were soldiers enlisted in the Army. Of the 4,000 lives, the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count records that 84 were from Tennessee and three of those from Clarksville. In addition, more than 82,000 noncombatants, or innocent civilians, have been killed during this time, as reported by Iraq Body Count.

If all of the dead military servicemen and women were APSU students, this would mean our university would lose almost half of its population. Furthermore, if the noncombatant Iraqis who have died were APSU students then our university would increase its current enrollment nine times over.

Numbers matter, but which numbers are taken into account must be considered. A dollar value cannot measure the losses of life in the Iraqi conflict. Life is too precious to put a price tag on it. Five years later, it’s a duty of the living to remember and acknowledge the dead, and the sacrifices that have been made.

Iraq. Why are we there? For many, this answer remains murky. Regardless of the reason(s) why the U.S. is there, the fact remains that we are there. No easy answers are available on how to solve this situation successfully and peacefully. But as the five-year anniversary is upon us, I ask our readership to stop and acknowledge the dead lost in this conflict. Light a candle. Say a prayer. Observe a moment of silence.

To the servicemen and women and the Iraqi civilians, “We remember.”