Name: Tess
Home: St. Louis
A Sad Milestone
The death toll of U.S. soldiers in Iraq has reached 2000. According to an article on cnn.com,
The Iraq Body Count -- a London-based group comprised of academics, human rights and anti-war activists -- estimates between 26,690 and 30,051 civilians in Iraq have been killed since the start of hostilities in March 2003. The estimate is based on compiled media accounts.
A U.S. Army spokesman in Baghdad, Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, quoted by The Associated Press, says the estimate of civilian casualties appears credible, adding: "We may never know the true number of the Iraqi public that has been killed or injured in this war. The Iraqi public has taken the brunt of the
casualties."
posted by Tess | 4:37 AM
4 Comments:
Joel, I was glad to hear that the constitution passed, but I'm confused what you mean by "it"--what is worth dying for in this case?
As far as I'm concerned, it's one thing to talk about the U.S. death toll, because those are soldiers who signed up to be in the armed services knowing they might go to war. But it bothers me that a lot of people dismiss the Iraqi civilian death toll. Did those Iraqis believe "it" was worth dying for? Possibly some did, but they had no choice.
But the situation in Iraq is tricky, and I certainly don't pretend to have the wisdom to know the best course of action now that we're entangled. That's why I didn't comment much on the cnn.com article. I think it's important to remind people about casualties--both Iraqi and American--so we can periodically reevaluate why we're over there and whether the cost is worth it. Of course, people on both extremes already have fixed ideas about whether the sacrifice is worth it; the far right seems to think that any number of casualties can be justified, while the far left seems to think that no casualties are justified.
P.S. to Joel--Btw, thanks for checking out my blog. I've seen you over on Ben's a lot.
I am upset that the Iraqi constitution has so little provision for the protection of womens' rights and freedoms. Because you know those 2000 American dead aren't all men. There are women over there fighting for "it" - an "it" that doesn't even pretend to allow Iraqi women the freedoms that American women enjoy and take for granted. Obscene.
The two editorial pages in our newspaper today were solely a list of the 2000 names. It was breathtaking to look at the two pages of newsprint and realize the heartbreak that lies behind every name and hometown.
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