on the beat...

As if we weren't fully aware of the latest death toll from Democratic talking heads and their brothers in arms, the mainstream media, the AP decides to celebrate the benchmark of 2500 with a cheery little article :

The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that 2,500 U.S. troops have died in the

Iraq war since it began more than three years ago, marking a grim milestone even as President Bush hopes a recent spate of good news will reverse the war's widespread unpopularity at home.

The latest death was announced as Congress was launching into a symbolic election-year debate over the war, with Republicans rallying against calls by some Democrats to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

While there were no details on who it was or where the 2,500th death occurred, it underscored the continuing violence in Iraq just after an upbeat Bush returned from a surprise visit to Baghdad determined that the tide was beginning to turn.

Seems like a big number, huh? 2,500? Maybe we just need to put it in context.

So I decided to do a little research, and see what casualties from other wars have been like:

US Military Deaths (listed by most number of casualties):
Source : Wikipedia

American Civil War : 620,000 Deaths

WWII : 407,300 Deaths

WWI : 126,000 Deaths

Vietnam War : 58,200 Deaths

Korean War : 33,000 Deaths

Iraq War : 2,500 Deaths

Kinda puts it in perspective, huh?