one thousand and counting
the official US military death toll in the war against iraq surpassed 1000 yesterday, making it the tenth armed conflict in the nation's history to take that many lives. all but 138 of the deaths have occurred since bush announced to the nation and the world that we'd won the war. oh yes, of course, he actually called it the «end of major combat operations». hmmm....anyway, so the total, according to a recent associated press analysis of military deaths in the eighteen months since the US attacked, invaded and occupied iraq, includes soldiers from every state except alaska. more than five hundred children have been left without fathers or mothers by the deaths. the youngest fatality was eighteen, the oldest fifty-nine, and more than half were not yet thirty. over 7000 have been injured. no details are available as to how many of those are brain-dead, maimed or otherwise unable to resume either military service or ordinary civilian life.
defence secretary donald rumsfeld referred to the benchmark pretty much as just a number in the rising body count.
sen. john kerry, democratic presidential nominee, called the thousandth death a «tragic milestone» and said it highlighted the urgency of ending the conflict. he said in a statement that «our nation honours their service and joins with their families and loved ones in mourning their loss» and that «we must never forget the price they have paid, and we must meet our sacred obligation to all our troops to do all we can to make the right decisions in iraq so that we can bring them home as soon as possible».
and instead of having the courage to do what's needed to put an end to the insurgency in fallujah, the pentagon allows it to become the centre of insurrection, not against the US, but against the iraqi government. i mean, why are WE at war with these people still?
source: newsday.
