The Medal of Honor, the most important award the army gives to heroic deeds, has so far been given to only two soldiers since the start of the Iraqi occupation three and a half years ago.

However, during World War II, 464 Medals of Honor were awarded within the same time frame. Time magazine questioned why U.S. soldiers were not entitled to the medal, despite that the fact that many have bravely fought and died in the region.

Recalling that only two soldiers received the medal in Iraq, Time also noted that the second most important medal was awarded to only 26 in Iraq, while this figure was 8,716 during WWII.

After conducting an investigation into the low number of awards, the magazine concluded that the award procedure was not as speedy as it used to be in the past.

According to Time, another reason for the abstention was the Pentagon's conviction that each soldier fighting in Iraq has done admirably, so none should be distinguished from the others.

However, Time also contends that the most important reason for the low number of medals was the clear difference between the nature of the Iraqi War and that of the others.

Time recalled that many rules and practices stipulated under the customs and laws of armed conflicts were ignored in Iraq because of the difficulties involved.