Bush's War Tally: 2,600 American Soldiers, 45,000 Iraqi Civilians, 0 WMDs

Commentary ~ August 25, 2006: The number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq has topped 2,600, according to official counts from the Associated Press and iCasualties.org. Three US soldiers were killed yesterday when one was hit by small-arms fire, another was killed by a roadside bomb, and the third died in an exchange of fire.

Recently an editorial in USA Today declared that the Bush administration and Congress "cut and run" from Osama bin Laden to invade Iraq. "Bin Laden and al-Qaeda were responsible for 9/11, not Iraq. We now have our military bogged down in the middle of an Iraqi civil war with no end in sight. All due to inept judgment and poor planning with no oversight or accountability by Congress," it read.

American military strategy continues to stir up the hornet's nest. Reuters reported that U.S. tanks shelled a mosque today in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi on Friday after coming under rocket-propelled grenade and machinegun fire from the building.

Iraqbodycount.net, an independent website which relies on credible media reports of deaths, puts the number of Iraqi civilians killed since the American invasion at up to 45,227 - although it says many other deaths may have gone unreported.

For those of us with short-term memory loss, let us revisit the figures:

• Number of American soldiers killed: 2,615
• Number of Iraqi civilians killed: 45,227
• Number of Weapons of Mass Destruction found: 0

Meanwhile, in Britain, a teenage soldier killed himself yesterday because he feared having to shoot child suicide bombers. Shortly after taking the overdose, Jason Chelsea, 19, told his parents that as part of training for Iraq he had been warned he might have to shoot children.

Links / References:

• Overdose soldier's funeral held
  From The BBC
• Error to shift focus from bin Laden to Iraq
  From USA Today
• Iraq Coalition Casualties
• Iraqbodycount.net
  

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