Here's an interesting article I stumbled across. It talks about the seemingly low body count for the Americans compared to other wars they have fought. For example, 1200 dead in Iraq doesn't seem that bad when compared to the 56,000 lost in Vietnam. One can also look at the average of two dead a day in the current conflict, and compare that to the average of 15 deaths a day in Vietnam, or even the 300 a day during World War II.

But then the author starts looking at the totals in different ways. For example, body armor is now widely used, medical procedures have advanced to a remarkable degree, and the seriously wounded are now routinely medivaced to field hospitals.

The bottom line is that when you compensate for these factors, as well as some others, the current Iraqi War is every bit as intense as Vietnam, and the overall casualty rate is not much lower than during WWII.