At least 23,000 civilians have also died in the Iraqi killing field and the U.S. is stuck in a quagmire.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Unfortunately, in war, there are casualties, including among the civilian population.
In the three years since our nation began operations in Iraq, more than 2,500 Americans have been killed and more than 18,000 Americans have been seriously wounded.
Every civilian's death diminishes us, collectively.
My personal missteps - how many Americans have died as a result of that? None. Other than my family, how many victims were there? None. And yet, in refusing to engage in a responsible debate about Iraq, how many Americans died? Thousands. And America seems to have no problem with that.
From the depths of the Pacific to the deserts of Iraq, more than a million American soldiers, Airmen, midshipmen, and Marines have laid down their lives for their friends, their families and our nation.
There's been an increase in the number of Iraqis in training, but more Americans are dying and violence is increasing.
If civilians are going to be killed, I would rather have them be their civilians than our civilians.
Today we're faced with over 500 casualties, a cost of over $200 billion. And it could rise - the casualties could go into thousands and the cost could go over half a trillion - if we stay there for years.
To hear of a thousand deaths in war is terrible, and we 'know' that it is. But as it registers on our hearts, it is not more terrible than one death fully imagined.
We've killed a million Iraqis since the start of the Gulf war - mostly by blocking humanitarian aid.