This week, dozens of fantastic diaries have reminded us that "it's not just the war" that's causing a rising tide of discontent in Joe Lieberman's electoral constituency. Many of DK's best writers, including Kos himself, have reminded us of the myriad reasons for Lieberman's fall, and Lamont's subsequent surge.
Increasingly, the phrase "not just the war" has become bothersome for me - as if the illegal and unprovoked action in Iraq were just a small piece in Lieberman's troubling political puzzle. So what if it was just the war? Why minimize it? Why do we feel the need to pile additional "reasons" on top of the greatest U.S. military disaster since Vietnam?
This diary is our reminder: the war is enough.
Here is a snapshot of
the Iraq War, by the numbers, with data culled from
icasualties.
19: Number of Connecticut troops killed to date in Iraq.
69: Number of projected days, at the current casualty pace, until the number of coalitions deaths in Iraq will equal the number of Americans killed on 9/11.
1: Of 18, the number of Iraqi provinces currently being "secured" by Iraqi forces.
32: Italian troop deaths in Iraq - representing the 3rd most of all countries, behind coalition aggressors, the U.S. and Britain.
1275: The number Iraqi security forces and civilian deaths in July 2006 - the most since August of 2005.
54: The percentage of American wounded in Iraq who are returned to duty within 72 hours.
130,000: Estimated number of our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and cousins currently serving on Iraqi soil.
200,000: Estimated number of total U.S. troops currently occupying 130 other nations -- effectively rendering as fragile our overall military strength.
3: The number of U.S. Congressman with direct family members in the Iraq War, thanks only to the recent addition of Jimmy McCain.
92: Percentage of total U.S. troop deaths that have occurred since George Bush antagonized insurgents with "Bring `em on."
44,191 Estimated number of Iraqis killed in the war.
5: Besides the U.S. and Britain, the number of "coalition" countries with 10 or more fatalities in the Iraq War.
186,000,000 At 62%, the estimated number of Americans who disapprove of our involvement in Iraq.
Clearly, the war is enough - for Joe Lieberman, for all of us.