One Thousand
Well, not quite.
1001. But who's counting anymore? Not the media, who have been as complicit in the ongoing nature of the U.S. occupation of Iraq as anyone.
Is it surprising to you that this is a failed venture? It shouldn't be. In cold, hard business terms, there's was no reason to expect, with his legacy of failure, that Bush would be any more successful in leading USA, Inc. than he was at Harken Energy. Since I'm doing business analogies, check out Juan Cole's recent piece on the same topic.
None of us celebrate the deaths of our sons, daughters, friends, and coworkers as a result of this fiasco. People on both sides of the political aisle have been touched by the war in Iraq. War is funny that way - the comittment of aggression (or defensive reaction) doesn't discriminate against political leaning, ethnicity, or (in an ideal world) station. Dead is dead.
The three principals writing for ASZ have all talked about the further costs of this fiasco, costs that far exceed the raw numbers of filled body bags. Suicides (on return home and in theatre), post-traumatic stress syndrome, broken marriages, broken bodies, insurmountable debt, and irreconcileable personal agony are but some of the costs beyond flag covered caskets.
All collateral damage...all within the realm of Pentagon "acceptability curves"...all for a lie, the spin, and the base of George W. Bush.
Update, 6:10PM: Got this idea off of Atrios comments; don't let this event pass without letting the media know that you hold them accountable as well - here's a link to all major media email addresses. Don't procrastinate - get it done before this news cycle passes...
