I am re-posting this from October 26, 2005 when the number of casualties in Iraq reached 2000. Now that the press can once again trot out a double zero figure I wanted to remind everyone that the real number is Each and Every One. Jim
So much focus from TOM and the anti-victory left has been on the 2000 2500th US casualty in Iraq. But this, found in an AP story, is a much better take.
In an e-mail statement to Baghdad-based journalists, command spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Boylan said media attention on the 2,000 figure was misguided and “set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives.”
He described the grim statistic as an “artificial mark on the wall” and urged news organizations to focus more on the accomplishments of the U.S. military mission in Iraq.
For example, Iraqi officials announced Tuesday that voters had approved a new constitution in the Oct. 15 referendum, laying the foundation for constitutional, democratic Iraqi government after decades of Saddam’s tyranny.
“I ask that when you report on the events, take a moment to think about the effects on the families and those serving in Iraq,” Boylan wrote. “The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone.”
Boylan said the 2,000th service member to die in Iraq “is just as important as the first that died and will be just as important as the last to die in this war against terrorism and to ensure freedom for a people who have not known freedom in over two generations.”
He complained that the true milestones of the war were “rarely covered or discussed,” including the troops who had volunteered to serve, the families of those that have been deployed for a year or more, and the Iraqis who have sought at great risk to restore normalcy to their country.
“Celebrate the daily milestones, the accomplishments they have secured and look to the future of a free and democratic Iraq and to the day that all of our troops return home to the heroes welcome they deserve,” Boylan wrote.
Two thousand Twenty-five hundred soldiers have not died in Iraq. It is one soldier with family, friends and loved ones who has paid the ultimate price. An individual who had likes and dislikes and a personality all their own. An individual who’s life is worthy of our honor and respect. A real person with a name. One soldier who volunteered. One soldier who gave the people of Iraq the freedom to vote, the freedom to choose, the freedom to hope. One hero. Repeated two thousand twenty-five hundred times.
Those who have died are not just numbers for the news and their sacrifice is not a reason to run, but to stay. As President Bush said yesterday in a speech yesterday to the joint armed forces officers’ wives’ luncheon,
We got more work to do, and it involves great risk for Iraqis and for American and coalition forces. A time of war is a time for sacrifice, and the greatest burden falls on military families. We’ve lost some of our nation’s finest men and women in the war on terror. Each of these men and women left grieving families and left loved ones back home. Each of these patriots left a legacy that will allow generations of their fellow Americans to enjoy the blessings of liberty. Each loss of life is heartbreaking. And the best way to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops is to complete the mission and lay the foundation of peace by spreading freedom.
So, we do not honor two thousand twenty-five hundred soldiers who have died. We honor one.
Each and every one.
Loading ...