President Trump has met with his advisors including many military.members. Other presidents discovered they couldn’t get out of afghanistan because it looked as if they were doing something about terrorism even if it didn’t make any difference.
U.S. military deaths vs. terrorist deaths
One way to determine how useful a war is would be to balance the number of people in the military who are killed against how many are killed because of the root cause of the war - in this instance terrorism. As of October 18th, 2016, there have been 2,386 U.S. military deaths during the Afghanistan War and 20,050 or so service members wounded, many horribly.
So, just how does that compare to the number of dead in the U.S. during the same period due to foreign terrorist attacks? It is between 24 and 30, depending on how you count “foreign terrorists.”
99 times
So, on a cost-benefit basis, the Afghanistan War has killed 99 times more U.S. citizens than foreign terrorists have killed in the U.S. Does that make any sort of sense to anyone who isn’t a politician like President Trump?
President Trump is likely to send more troops, at least by sending combat troops against a specific ISIS target.
President Trump might pull out all U.S. troops, including those “training” Afghanistan troops. And, by the way, hasn't that 16 years' training worked out really well?
West Point is only four years while boot camp in the U.S. is 6-10 weeks.
Gun violence
Why are politicians (Including Bush II and Obama) continuing the 16-year war? A cynic (or experienced Washington reporter) would point out that politicians get elected and re-elected by looking as if they are doing something. They really don't have to do anything useful, they just look like they are.
If Presidents and members of Congress were really concerned about the deaths of U.S. civilians they would focus on the fact that fewer than 30 people have been killed by foreign terrorists but 280,024 have been killed by guns.
High-speed chases
Most high-speed chases are initiated due to a minor traffic violation, not a violent crime.
But innocent civilians are killed at a rate of about 323 each year according to a 2007 study in Prehospital Emergency Care. That’s more innocent bystanders, U.S. residents, than are killed each year by floods, tornadoes, lightning, and hurricanes combined.
The numbers come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
6 Dead for a traffic violation.
Death sentence for running a stop sign?
USA Today reports that over the past 35 years 2400 innocent bystanders have been killed by high-speed police chases.
Bottom Line
- More Americans are dead from trying to prevent terrorism than by terrorists.
- More Americans are dead because of police cars hitting innocent bystanders than are killed by terrorist vehicles.
Isn't it time to rethink what protecting American lives really means?
Dead is dead whether killed in a meaningless war, by police misconduct, or by terrorists.
