America's toll down the years

As the official toll of American soldiers in Iraq crossed the 1,000 mark on Wednesday, the inevitable comparisons with Vietnam became more pronounced.

The pro-war lobby decries such a comparision as deceptive and odious, noting that while Vietnam was jungle warfare, Iraq involves urban fighting; in Vietnam, 58,000 Americans died over a nine-year period. In Iraq, the 1,000 mark was crossed after 18 months.

Others point to the fact that more US troops have died in Iraq in these 18 months than were killed in the first three years of the Vietnam war. They also note that the tactics being used in Iraq (guerrilla strikes on a mightier military force, which retaliates with increasing violence) are eerily reminiscent of Vietnam.

But for the Civil War and Pearl Harbour, American soldiers have rarely died within US borders. But they have died in action in places as far removed as the Philippines (4,273 deaths between 1899 and 1902) and China (1945-47). And then of course there were the two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the wars in Iraq.

A quick look at how many American troops have died in major campaigns from the Civil War onwards.