The 2,000 mark hype - Sister Toldjah

The media has been marching to the steady drumbeat of the official 2,000th US troop death from the war in Iraq. The number of stories via Google News: close to 2,000.

What does this number signify? An artificial mark, according to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, director of the force’s combined press center:

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Shortly before U.S. military deaths in Iraq reached 2,000 on Tuesday, the chief spokesman for the American-led multinational force called on reporters covering the conflict not to look at the event as a milestone.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, director of the force’s combined press center, described the number as an “artificial mark on the wall.”

“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 said in an e-mail. “The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives.”

The U.S. military death toll reached 2,000 with the death of an Army sergeant who was wounded by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad and died in Texas last weekend. A Pentagon announcement Tuesday said Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr., 34, of Killeen, Texas, died in San Antonio, Texas. The death raised the Associated Press tally of military fatalities in the Iraq war to 2,000.

Alexander was wounded Oct. 17 in Samarra, a town 60 miles north of the Iraqi capital. He was assigned to the 1st Batallion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga.

“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,” Boylan wrote.

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.

Amen.

Here’s more perspective from Major Chaz over at the Big2K blog:

First, being in the military is a high-risk enterprise, even when you are not in combat. Humvees roll over, helicopters crash, people commit suicide, people get hit by vehicles. People die. But in this instance, since they happened in a combat zone, they fit neatly into the meme of the leftists that “Bush Lied, People Died”. They would have you believe that all of these brave souls died as victims of imperialist government fighting in an illegal war. Bringthemhomenow.org says “So far, more than 1950 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq ….”

But only slightly more than 1500 have actually died from hostile fire. More than 400 military members have died due to non-combat causes. And not all of the almost 2000 deaths have actually happened in Iraq. If a military member dies in the AOR, on orders for OIF, his/her death is counted towards “the milestone of 2,000 U.S. military deaths in Iraq”.

God be with our men and women in uniform as they continue on their noble missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan, while hopefully ignoring an (I hate to say) almost gleeful press.

One more note to the military: please never forget that we support you!

Hat tips to Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin.

Myopic Zeal says:

October 25, 2005 at 5:29 pm

Only 2,000

Every one of the 2,000 servicemen and -women who has died in Iraq is an enormous loss. Each will leave a gaping hole in many lives, those of family, friends and even entire communities.
And yet, as the media and the left launches into their “2…

Sitting At The Gates says:

October 26, 2005 at 3:06 am

We bow our heads in honor

Today marked a milestone in Iraq that will not be soon forgotten. Today, the death toll reached 2000 for our troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am reminded, every day, of the sacrifice that…

PCD says:

October 26, 2005 at 8:22 am

2000 is a number. The lefties, Bush-haters, and anti-war idiots think a round number is so fearsome.

I don’t see these people recoiling from the round numbers of people killed by the left wing regimes in Vietnam, China, and Cambodia (Pol Pot). I don’t see them counting the number of people killed by al Qaida and demanding that they stop.

I don’t see the left demanding that driver’s licenses be taken away from serial drunk drivers like Ted Kennedy who kill people.

I don’t see the left taking responsibility for the people they’ve helped kill.

Pug says:

October 26, 2005 at 8:42 am

Wow, PCD. What a truly stupid comment.

October 26, 2005 at 10:02 am

Not at all, pug, What is the real matter? Does the truth hurt? I forgot, truth to a leftie is like Kryptonite to Superman or Sunlight to a Vampire.

October 28, 2005 at 8:08 am

I hate going back to an old post but this doesn’t fit anywhere else.

In a previous post, Webmistress, took issue with my perception of Liberals, Democrats, and Lefties in general. I’d like the webmistress and other sanctimonious, arrogant, selfrighteous Lefties to look at this: http://www.zombietime.com/2000_iraq_deaths_party and tell me why they can’t see and understand what is wrong with these morally bankrupt, anti-Americans.

I do get angry with the Left because they can’t acknowledge the wrong their side commits, yet they want everyone else to appologize for every imagined slight of the Left.

For you who can’t figure out the link, it is of the Anti-war, anti-American left celebrating the 2000th US military death in Iraq.

Kevin says:

October 31, 2005 at 12:16 am

Here’s how another of our soldiers in Iraq see the “2,000 deaths” reporting:

One of the results is that the American soldier is demoralized. Not because one or more of his buddies may have given their all, but because he feels like the American people do not really understand what he is doing and are therefore not truly behind them.

Here’s why he says it’s demoralizing:

…while we have lost 2000+ of our patriot sons and daughters, the number of terrorists who have assumed room temperature is estimated to be anywhere from 5 to 20 times that number (depending on who you talk to). We are taking the wood to the bad guys on a regular basis and in spectacular fashion. I never cease to be amazed at the warrior ethos that drives these great men and women or their willingness to fight and die for the freedom of people they will never meet.

The whole post is here at ‘Training for Eternity – In Iraq”. Anyone willing to do anything demoralizing to our troops is not someone I would call ‘friend’.