Afghan numbers not like Vietnam
2009-12-01 22:06
Washington - Critics say US President Barack Obama's move on Tuesday to send some 30 000 reinforcements to Afghanistan amid waning popular support for the war risks leaving America stuck in a Vietnam-style quagmire.
In reality though the figures don't match up between the current Afghan conflict and the Vietnam War, which ultimately doomed Lyndon Johnson's presidency.
The Vietnam War was the deadliest for the United States after World War II; it killed 60 times more troops than the war in Afghanistan has taken so far and at its height involved eight times more US personnel.
Here are the major armed conflicts the United States has taken part in since 1945, including the maximum number of US troops deployed, the number of casualties reported and the cost of the operation at the time and in inflation-adjusted dollars for 2008.
KOREAN WAR, 1950-1953
TROOPS DEPLOYED: 326 863
KILLED: 36 574
WOUNDED: 103 284
COST: $30bn ($320bn, 2008)
VIETNAM WAR, 1964-1973
TROOPS DEPLOYED: 549 000 (1968)
KILLED: 58 209
WOUNDED: 153 303
COST: $111bn ($686bn, 2008)
GULF WAR, 1990-1991
TROOPS DEPLOYED: 694 550
KILLED: 382
WOUNDED: 467
COST: $61bn ($96bn, 2008)
AFGHANISTAN, 2001-2009
TROOPS DEPLOYED: 70 000 (rising to 100 000 with latest announcement)
KILLED: 929
WOUNDED: 4 334
COST: $171bn (2008)
IRAQ, 2003-2009
TROOPS DEPLOYED: 119 000, now (250 000 during 2003 invasion)
KILLED: 4 367
WOUNDED: 31 557
COST: $648bn (2008)
