Excellent essay. However, you say “As we approach 2000 deaths in this war . . ..” Does not the number now exceed 3000, total, including both combat KIA and in-theater deaths due to accidental causes? I assume a breakdown is available, distinguishing between these two causes of military deaths in Iraq, and also Afghanistan.
I would contend, absent compelling evidence to the contrary, that the number of deaths due to accidental incidents would have been roughly the same if all the military personnel that have served in Iraq/Afghanistan had instead been posted stateside or in other non-combat areas. One significant cause of death among military personnel that I have previously remarked is not operative in Iraq/Afghanistan: Crashes involving privately-owned automobiles/motorcycles. That is the basis of my contention on the matter of military casualties.
I well remember WWII, the early part of which I spent as a teen-aged farmhand, and the absence of daily direct-from-the-battlefronts casualty reports that could be exploited to demoralize the home front.
This was written a couple years ago when the number was approaching 2000.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters