Boots, dog tags, weapons and pictures at memorial for US Army soldiers killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom: Randall Rehn, Todd Robbins and Samuel Oaks Jr. (l-r), Fort Sill, Oklahoma. (AP)
Iraq Death Toll Reaches 2,000 Story aired: Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Analysts are looking closely at the benchmark number of U.S. soldiers, Marines and sailors killed in Iraq since U.S. troops began their assault on Baghdad in march of 2003. More than 90 percent of the deaths have come after President Bush announced an end to major combat operations on May 1, 2003.
These men and women have come from every state in the country. Most of those killed have been young, male ground troops: roughly seventy percent of those killed have been active duty soldiers and Marines, most of them in their twenties. The rest have come from the national guard and reserves which are bearing a greater burden in this war than they have in past conflicts.
Professor Barry Posen discusses the impact these numbers have on the Bush Administration and the overall strategy for rebuilding Iraq.
Guests:
Barry Posen, professor in the Security Studies program at MIT
