2,500: More Than A Number

When word reached the White House today that the 2,500th American solider had died in Iraq the presidential spokesman, former FOX News personality Tony Snow, remarked that it was “just a number” that had no real significance. For this White House – which has a policy of not even keeping count of the tens of thousands of Iraqis killed since the US invasion – American soldiers are really little more than expendable props in the Bush White House’s quest to regain some popularity. Mr. Snow, the 2,500 dead Americans are more than just numbers. They are fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends to someone. The president and his advisors might not care about these men and women but we ought to. We ought to advocate for the soonest possible withdrawal. We ought to advocate that our troops get everything they need – including mental health and health treatment. And we all need to remember that these people dying over there under President Bush’s order are not just a number. Just look at their faces and read their stories. (Hat tip to Sally for getting me this info).

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