Death toll for U.S. troops in Iraq reaches 2,000

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The American military death toll in the Iraq war reached 2,000 Tuesday with the announcements of three more deaths, including an Army sergeant who died of wounds at a military hospital in Texas and a Marine and a sailor killed last week in fighting west of Baghdad.

The 2,000 mark was reached amid growing doubts among the American public about the Iraq conflict, launched in March 2003 to destroy Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. None was ever found.

In Washington, the Senate observed a moment of silence in honor of the fallen 2,000. “We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for their courage, for their valor, for their strength, for their commitment to our country,” said Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Critics of the war also acknowledged the sacrifice, even as they questioned the policies of those who lead it.

“Our armed forces are serving ably in Iraq under enormously difficult circumstances, and the policy of our government must be worthy of their sacrifice. Unfortunately, it is not, and the American people know it,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat.

Sen. Robert Byrd, a veteran Democrat from West Virginia, said Americans should expect “many more losses to come.”

“More than 135,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq. They did not ask to be sent to war, but each day, they carry out their duty while risking their lives. It is only reasonable that the American people, and their elected representatives, ask more questions about what the future holds in Iraq,” Byrd said.

Bush: More deaths to come
Just before the toll hit 2,000, President Bush warned the nation to brace for an even higher casualty count as the mission there has more work remaining to be successful.

“The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we have ever faced, unconstrained by any notion of common humanity and by the rules of warfare,” the President said in a speech before the Joint Armed Forces Officers’ Wives’ luncheon, held at Bolling Air Force Base. “No one should underestimate the difficulties ahead.”

But, Bush added: “Nor should they overlook the advantages we bring to this fight. ... Some observers look at the job ahead and adopt a self-defeating pessimism. It’s not justified.”

Meanwhile in Iraq, officials announced final results in the country’s landmark constitutional referendum. Despite an effort from Sunni Arab opponents to defeat it, Iraq’s constitution was adopted by a majority in a fair vote, officials said.

‘Artificial mark,’ Army spokesman says
The chief spokesman for the American-led multinational force called on reporters covering not to look at the 2,000th death since March 2003 as a milestone, describing the number as an “artificial mark on the wall.”

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, director of the force’s combined press center, said via e-mail, “The 2,000th Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine that is killed in action 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,” and said they included 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.

Activist to ‘die symbolically’
Outside the White House on Tuesday, peace activist Cindy Sheehan — whose 24-year old son, Casey, died in Iraq last year — said she and others plan to “die symbolically” each night over the next four days to protest U.S. involvement in Iraq.

“I’ll be laying down and not getting up,” said Sheehan, who planned the protests this week expecting that the U.S. military death toll would hit 2,000. “When they let me out I’ll do the same thing if I get arrested.”

A candlelight vigil was planned for the sidewalk outside the White House, the site of a noisy demonstration and numerous arrests in September, which included Sheehan.

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