WP: Sacrifice in the In-Box

[Southpaw Bookworm]

And what did they all die for?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33148-2004Jun10.html

The death notices from Iraq come across my computer screen by e-mail and always follow the same format. Each states the name of the dead soldier and his or her rank, age and hometown, as in: "Pfc. Melissa J. Hobart, 22, of Ladson, S.C." It also identifies the unit, and so tells you whether this was an active-duty soldier or a part-time reservist or a National Guard member.

As a military reporter for The Post, I get copies of all of them. On good days there are none, or one. On some bad days, such as this past Monday, there are several.

If the soldier was in the Army, there also is usually a sentence giving a bare-bones account of the means of death -- mortar attack, roadside bomb, small-arms fire or vehicle accident account for most. June 2: "Capt. Robert C. Scheetz Jr., 31, of Dothan, Ala., died May 30 in Musayyib, Iraq, when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device" -- the U.S. military term for a roadside bomb, frequently made with an old artillery shell and a remote detonator. The Marine Corps notices are shorter, because they don't disclose the cause of death, on the grounds that -- as those news releases sometimes state -- such information could aid the foe in Iraq.

In other conflicts I've covered -- Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti -- the death notices were fewer or came in bursts and stopped after a few weeks or months. Now the notices have gone on for more than a year, providing a continual but uneven drumbeat.

[Frances]

1. Please read this article

The author Thomas E. Ricks deserves our thanks for taking such a thoughtful, respectful look at the names of the people who have died in Iraq.

[struggle4progress]

2. Let's stop this nonsense and bring the troops home

:kick:

[KoKo]

3. This reporter makes clear what's going on without adding hyperbole

to it. But his clear statement of what he sees in his inbox just goes to your gut reading it. The names that are lost in the vanity of those who pushed us into this War. The forgotton ones while we focus on the ones whose vile actions will become household names, those who are dead will only have a tombstone, if their families can afford one.

[Longhorn]

4. Link to announcements

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/

Look how many deaths there were this week! How many did you hear about during all the Reagan death coverage?