Which is worse – 5,000 US soldiers die in Iraq or 200,000+ innocent Iraqis die for no reason?

Great question, have a star. I agree with Matt, the 200k estimate is way low. Wikileaks is currently negotiating with the US government over the release of 491000 classified reports that detail killing of civilians by US troops. Every time a US serviceman or woman kills an Iraqi (regardless of why) they are required to fill out a report detailing the incident, its build up, and why they acted with lethal force. Wikileaks has 491,000 of these reports, so it's fair to say that the real number most likely far exceeds half a million. Let's also not forget the additional million or so who have died via insurgent actions, ie suicide bombings, terrorist attacks etc. All of them are people who would be alive but for the US invasion, so it's not unreasonable to say that their blood is on the hands of the US government.

As for the dolts who say that Iraqis were dying uder Saddam, why weren't you concerned for their welfare when the USA was backing him in the 1980s? Didn't the Iraqis matter back then, or did you only become concerned about their lives when it became politically expedient to do so about ten years ago? No doubt you weren't concerned about the Iranians he massacred with sarin & tabun attacks, or the Iraqis & Kurds he killed with US supplied anthax cultures. Only the most hypocritical, ignorant, brainwashed moron would claim that the USA acted with right on its side to remove Saddam.

Civilians were dying in Iraq before the US got there.

Why are people only concerned about Iraqi civilians being killed now that the US is there?

Apparently it was perfectly fine when Saddam killed Iraqi people and apparently it seems that a lot people think that should have continued.

I went to Iraq. Not because of WMDs, but because if nothing else, the place needs to be fixed. Even if Bush was arrested for "war crimes" tomorrow, that does not change the past and does not change what needs to be in Iraq today. But apparently people seem to think we should just pull out and all the killing will magically stop. So don't try to tell people why we volunteer to go to Iraq, you don't know and you don't speak for us.

Both are tragic ... many of the US soldiers that we that were called up to Iraq were reserves that joined up after 911.

Here in Australia the government cannot send reserves to conflict offshore unless the national security is under threat (at least that is my understanding of it).

The whole sorry mess is a tragedy.

200,000 innocent civilians. We should not have even been in Iraq. A total waste of $3 Trillion! And that doesn't include the lives lost which I don't know how to put a figure on.

We actually killed 500,000 Iraqi children 5 and under during the embargo. We killed a lot more Iraqis than Saddam ever did.

Apologyone apology, I would LOVE for you to cough up proof of that. I WOULD LOVE IT! Because most of obama's administration is diverse, White,black,Muslim Ext. NO ONE ETHNIC GROUP dominates anything, Please dont speak jewish hate speach here. Let's say for one second you were Canadian and they were being attacked by countries surrounding them, and you were in charge, I would also love to hear you say you would turn your back on your canadian brothers.

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As for the question, Are you an american? Those deaths, Are very tragic to america, they represented us and faught for us, which takes courage. Some one has to enlist in every war good or bad. There are always people that fight in wars good side or bad side, This war may have been phoney BUT ARE THOSE PEOPLE STILL AMERICAN? Absolutely.

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I would also like to agree with the person above me MOST MUSLIM NATIONS SUPPORT TERRORIST AND HATE FREEDOM!!! Go there and speak what you want YOU WILL BE MURDERED! People were dieing EVERY DAY in iraq before we got there.

I feel un-patriotic saying this but 200k people. I still feel really bad for the 5k though, if I had my way neither would be asked to lay down their life for what amounts to nothing to me. It has been estimated that over a million Iraqi's have died btw.

You see a lot of talk about the amount of American soldiers that died in Iraq?

Really?

Where exactly do you see a lot of that? There hasn't been any talk of that since Obama got elected. The left no longer feels the need to keep up with that now that they are in office.

They have a new government and Saddam is out of there; the effort was for more than they've told us--which is very annoying.

The coverage about the gov's activities is substandard.

edit: human beings are NOT "sacrifices".

Any number of those kids could have been strapped with bombs by a family member or another adult and sent off to death as a suicide bomber. Who says that all those people were killed by soldiers and not by Iraqi's trying to make us look bad? None of them stand up to the corrupt extremists among them and I don't trust any of them for that reason.

you know, lol, if memory serves me correct A LOT of people died because of suicide bombers...lots of suicide bombers. At least a couple years worth. Iraq harbored terrorist. sorry but most middle eastern muslim countries SUPPORT TERRORIST. They need invaded before something bad happens.