Requiem

As of Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004, at least 1,303 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,019 died as a result of hostile action, the Defense Department said. The figures include three military civilians.

The British military has reported 74 deaths; Italy, 19; Poland, 13; Spain, 11; Ukraine, nine; Bulgaria, seven; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Thailand and the Netherlands, two each; and Denmark, El Salvador, Hungary and Latvia one death each!

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1,165 U.S. military members have died, according to AP's count. That includes at least 910 deaths resulting from hostile action, according to the military's numbers. I support our efforts in Iraq, but this is a little ridiculous.