according to the total reported by
http://www.globalsecurity.org/...
Peace with Iraq
For three thousand Americans, their relatives, and their families, peace with Iraq is now too late. Those three thousand Americans made the ultimate sacrifice for their country: They died fighting a war in a foreign land. We cannot undo the sacrifice that they made. We should seek to ensure that more Americans do not go forth, courageously, only to make the same sacrifice in the distant desert sands of Iraq.
Our soldiers in Iraq face hazards unknown in past wars. They are under constant attack. No matter how often George Bush claims that we are winning, the number of effective attacks against us continues to climb, in the past year from 70 to 180 per day. Worse, that count of attacks does not include vastly more "violent acts" committed against us. By report, those violent acts number more than one thousand per day. Over the course of a year, that's two violent acts for each serviceman and each servicewoman we have in the country.
No matter where our troops go, to Iraq's teeming cities, to the remote desert of Al Anbar province, or even to our own bases and bunkers, Iraqi guerrillas continue their incessant war on our men and women.
There are no front lines. The people fighting us wear no uniforms. Except when they are actively shooting at us, they simply blend into the rest of the civilian population. Our brave men and women have no way to tell friend from foe, except to wait and watch, hoping that their opponents will give themselves away before launching an attack.
For our soldiers, sailors, and airmen overseas, not to mention their families and friends who hear these descriptions, this is a war that tests people's spirits. In World War II and Korea, there were front lines. In Viet Nam, there were areas where the Viet Cong was not active. In the Iraqi capital, our people take refuge in the Green zone, protected by massive berms and eazor wire, but even the Green Zone is the constant object of attacks.
Our original war aims, whether sensible or misguided, at least made sense in English. We invaded Iraq to pursue President Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. We invaded Iraq to end collaboration between Iraq and various terrorist groups. We invaded Iraq to remove President Hussein for power.
We did those things. There were no WMDs in Iraq. The Iraqi government did not collaborate with Al Qaida. It had nothing to do with 9 11. President Hussein has met his an appointment with the hangman. The original mission may have been pointless, but that's no fault of our servicemen or their relatives and families.
And a War on Terror?
In World War II, when we beat the Japanese, their generals and admirals and government ministers sailed into Tokyo Bay, marched up the gangplank onto the Battleship Missouri, and signed their surrender agreements. If we are winning, who will surrender for 'terror'? What does it mean to wage war on an abstract noun?
It's time to bring the War on Iraq to an end. It's time to bring our men and women home from Iraq. No matter when we leave, the Iraqis will still face their national problems. It's no criticism of our military's dedication or courage to say that further fighting is futile. Iraq's problems are problems the Iraqis must solve for themselves, because there is no way we can solve their problems for them.