Just Sayin'

Last year - there were 81 work related deaths in Massachusetts. In the past calendar year (April 2003 to April 2004) - there were 734 coalition military fatalities in Iraq (combat and otherwise). This means that the job the military of the coalition nations is doing is only proportionately 9 times more dangerous than working a job in Massachusetts.

Iraq, however, happens to be more than 47 times the size of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. So a Commonwealth of Massachusetts the size of Iraq would theoretically have had more than 3,800 work related deaths in a year (based on last year's statistics).

There have been 826 military fatalities in Iraq since March of 2003.

I am not suggesting anything by these numbers - I am just trying to add perspective to both the superb job we have done in protecting our soldiers in a war zone and also pointing out that life in the states isn't exactly risk free either.