Seems we've just passed the (not so) hallowed mark of 2000 American military lives lost in the military action in Iraq (it's long since gone past being a "war"). Every week I read the Air Force Times. Every week (in the print edition only - can't find it online) they have a section of the American military members who lost their lives in OIF or OEF. It saddens me deeply to see the young faces in the pictures that they include.
I count myself among those who was on the fence as to whether we needed to take military action against Iraq at first. SecState Powell pretty much convinced me it was the right thing to do. I suspect that will be his sad legacy in many ways.
But I also count myself among those who think that whatever gains we have gained from that military action (including the capture of Saddam) have not been worth the loss of American life. The military action in Iraq has put our military members in peril, but has not made us safer at home.