Sunday, March 23, 2008

The 4,000 mark

At what point did you begin to think the 4,000 mark for number of US service members killed in Iraq in the illegal war could be reached?

It has been reached.

As someone older than dirt, I can remember Vietnam and the mounting deaths. I can remember how we ignored it and how, when it got larger and larger, we offered excuses as a people. "Yes," we would say or be told, "it is a large number. But it is not going to get too much larger and this is a worthy cause."

It was not a worthy cause.

Nor is the current illegal war.

If you accept 4,000 tonight, you will probably accept 5,000 and then . . .

Vietnam's death toll was not reached in one day or one year. It stacked up and stacked up.

People need to be asking themselves exactly when this illegal war ends and exactly what they are going to do end it.