|
1,000th Death in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq Sept. 7, 2004 — U.S. military deaths in the Iraq campaign passed 1,000 Tuesday, an Associated Press tally showed, as a spike in fighting with both Sunni and Shiite insurgents killed seven Americans in scattered clashes in the Baghdad area. The count includes 998 U.S. troops and three civilian contractors killed while working for the Pentagon. The tally was compiled by the AP based on Pentagon records, AP reporting from Iraq, and reports from soldiers' families. It includes deaths from hostile and non-hostile causes since President Bush launched a campaign in March 2003 to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein. A few deaths occurred in neighboring Kuwait. So eager was the AP to publish this story that they took any death of any American for any reason. Nonetheless, each death was a tragedy and a sacrifice on our behalf. The grim milestone was surpassed after a spike in clashes that has killed 14 American service members in the past two days. Two soldiers died in fighting Tuesday with militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Five other Americans died Tuesday in separate attacks, mostly in the Baghdad area. During a news conference at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld anticipated the tally would soon surpass 1,000 and sought to play down the milestone. "When combined with U.S. losses in other theaters in the global war on terror, we have lost well more than a thousand already," he said. Rumsfeld said the United States and its allies would not be swayed. Those who believe deaths would be a deterrent, he said, "underestimated our country, our coalition. They have failed to understand the character of our people. And they certainly misread our commander in chief." Let not their deaths be in vain Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-09-07 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=42638 |