The United States hit a sad milestone this week as the number of Americans killed in the Iraq war in the past three years reached and passed 2,000.
Regardless of how they feel about the war, Americans feel the pain that is endured by the lost soldiers’ loved ones. Each death represents a flesh-and-blood individual, and the nation should remember them as such, not as mere statistics.
They aren’t the only losses, though. While harder to quantify, the number of Iraqi civilians killed since 2003 is estimated at 30,000. Just this year, 2,100 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have been killed.
In addition, 15,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded, including too many who lost limbs or suffered lifelong brain damage.
Three years ago, many Americans assumed the Iraq war would be swift and triumphant. Those were more innocent days.
