As the 10th anniversary of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, passes, the nation looks ahead with hope after remembering the tragic events of the day. On Sunday morning, President Barack Obama spoke at New York’s ground zero site to thousands of guests. A moment of silence was observed at 8:46 a.m., the time when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north rower of the World Trade Center. After President Obama read a psalm, 167 families began reading off the names of individuals who died in the attack, only to be interrupted by another moment of silence at 9:03 a.m. — the time when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower. Four-and-a-half hours later, the oral listing of the dead was completed.

The events of 9/11 resulted in the immediate deaths of 2,996 individuals. There were approximately 246 victims killed from the four planes crashed, approximately 2,606 victims killed in the World Trade Center towers with approximately 292 dying at street level as a result of burning debris and bodies falling from above, and approximately 125 victims killed in the Pentagon. Of the reported deaths, eight were those of children. More than 90 countries lost lives in the attacks; this event was truly a devastation not only to America, but to the world community as a whole.

The tragic events of Sept. 11 were devastating to the United States and the world. Citizens of the United States as well as the rest of the world were reminded that the Western world is not invincible; we are just as vulnerable to tragedy and devastation as anyone else. We should, however, remind ourselves that the tragedy America faced in 2001 is miniscule compared to the tragedy America and its allies have inflicted since the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks. Though we mourn and honor the victims of the attack 10 years ago, we should remember that families around the world mourn and honor the victims killed from attacks made by the United States and its coalition five years ago, last year, last month and yesterday. The violence has continued.

As of 2010, in Afghanistan alone, 8,813 civilians have been killed, with an additional 15,863 civilians injured. These were citizens uninvolved in conflict. They were just as innocent as the citizens who perished in the World Trade Centers on Sept. 11. The only difference: There are almost three times as many of them.

In addition to the number of Afghan civilians killed since the U.S. and coalition attacks, a devastating number of other lives have been taken on Afghan soil. As of 2010, 8,587 Afghan troops have been killed, 1,140 U.S. troops have been killed, 772 other coalition troops have been killed, 298 contractors have been killed and 19 journalists have been killed. A total estimate of 19,629 deaths have occurred on Afghan soil.

As of 2010, an estimated 864,531 Iraq civilians have been killed. Another 1,566,156 civilians have been seriously injured. The estimated civilian deaths in Iraq outnumber deaths on U.S. soil as a result of 9/11 by 865,535 human lives — an equivalent to the population of the city of Ames approximately 16 times over.

Similar to Afghanistan, an immense number of other lives have been taken on Iraqi soil in addition to the devastating civilian deaths. As of 2010, an estimated 30,000 Iraqi troops have been killed, 4,414 United States troops have been killed, 318 other coalition troops have been killed, 933 contractors have been killed and 142 journalists have been killed. A total estimate of 1,690,903 deaths have occurred on Iraqi soil — equivalent to the killing of every citizen in the city of Des Moines almost nine times over.

Though the attacks on American soil of Sept. 11, 2001, were devastating, the death and destruction both Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced since is near incomprehensible. It is estimated that Afghanistan alone experiences the death of one Sept. 11 event every 231.24 days. In Iraq, the frequency jumps to the equivalent of a 9/11 event every 8.23 days. Combined, the deaths in both countries average the equivalent casualties of a Sept. 11 event every 7.95 days. Most shocking: Combined, Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced the equivalent of 348 Sept. 11s.

No doubt about it, the tragedy experienced by the United States and the world on Sept. 11, 2001, was devastating. However, when remembering the victims of 9/11, we must also remember and honor the deaths that have resulted at the hands of American and coalition forces. Since 9/11, only 33 deaths from “Muslim” terrorism have occurred in the United States. Deaths as a result of American terrorism on Iraqi and Afghan soil: 919,967. Don’t you think it’s time we turn down the volume on talk surrounding the devastation 9/11 caused our country, and turn up the volume on talk regarding the devastation that has occurred at the hands of Americans?

As we remember and reflect as a nation in our shared grief over the events of 9/11, perhaps America should remember this as well: It took four-and-a-half hours to name the victims of the 9/11 attacks. If we were to name the victims killed on Iraq and Afghanistan soil since American and coalition occupation, it would take us approximately 1,556 hours, 65.25 days, or two months and five days.