Iraq Death Toll Passes The 3,000 Mark January 1, 2007

From CBS News:

American deaths in the Iraq war reached the sobering milestone of 3,000 on Sunday even as the Bush administration sought to overhaul its strategy for an unpopular conflict that shows little sign of abating.

The latest death came during one of the most violent periods during which the Pentagon says hate and revenge killings between Iraq’s sects are now a bigger security problem than ever.

The death of a Texas soldier, announced Sunday by the Pentagon, raised the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000, according to an Associated Press count, since the war began in March 2003.

Spc. Dustin Donica (inset above) was death number 3,000.

See the corroborating story at The Boston Globe, and from The Houston Chronicle:

At the time of his death Thursday, Spc. Dustin Donica, 22, was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. “Dustin had a tremendous sense of duty, both to his family and his country,” according to a statement released Sunday by his family. “He will be missed by his family and all those that knew him.”

I’m sure he will. The Houston Chronicle also gives us some statistics to “put things in perspective” (as if the loss of three thousand American lives is something which can be placated by an argument of “hey, but at least it’s not as bad as…”):

Three thousand deaths are few compared with casualties in other protracted wars America has fought in the last century. There were 58,000 Americans killed in the Vietnam War, 36,000 in the Korean conflict, 405,000 in World War II and 116,000 in World War I, according to Defense Department figures.

Even so, the steadily mounting toll underscores the relentless violence that the massive U.S. investment in lives and money — surpassing $350 billion — has yet to tame, and may in fact still be getting worse.

Why are we still in Iraq, again? Especially considering the “mission” has long been “accomplished”?