Remembering the 4000

On Easter Sunday, while much of the United States was attending Easter services or romping around looking for hidden Easter eggs, the death toll of the current war in Iraq reached 4000. This grave milestone was reached after a blast from a makeshift explosive device detonated near a vehicle in Baghdad, killing four military personnel. The service men were patrolling a neighborhood when the device exploded.

The four were killed just days after the five-year anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. President Bush ordered troops into Iraq on March 19, 2003, and the costs of the war have mounted since that day. According to cnn.com, the House Budget Committee has estimated that taxpayers have shelled out approximately $600 billion to fund the war over the past five years, not counting the human toll of the war. According to The New York Times, 2007 proved to be the deadliest year in Iraq for U.S. soldiers. Approximately 29,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded to date, and over 94,000 Iraqi casualities can be attributed to the current war.

As the war enters its sixth year, Bush remains resolute that occupying the country is still in the best interest of the United States.

"Our strategy going forward will be aimed at making sure that we achieve victory and therefore America becomes more secure," said Bush in a statement on Monday.

However, he sent out sympathies to the grieving families around the U.S.

"On this day of reflection, I offer our deepest sympathies to their families," he said. "I hope their families know that citizens pray for their comfort and their strength, whether they were the first one who lost their life in Iraq or recently lost their life in Iraq."

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and John McCain all had comments about the 4000 landmark as well.

"It is past time to end this war that should never have been waged by bringing our troops home, and finally pushing Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future," Obama stated in a report that he sent out to the press about the 4000th death, according to MSNBC.com.

Clinton has promised to bring the troops home "as quickly and responsibly as possible," but McCain has kept with Bush's policy that the war must go on.

"It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing, and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible, and premature withdrawal," said McCain to The World Affairs Council in Los Angeles yesterday, according to cnn.com.

Currently approximately 158,000 troops still occupy Iraq but that number is expected to drop to an estimated 140,000 by the summer, according to an article by MSNBC.

While the war wages on, many Americans are wondering how much longer the U.S. occupation of Iraq will be. The same day that the death toll reached the iconic 4000, a fifth soldier was wounded, according to cnn.com.

"Americans also understand that the cost of the war to our national security, military readiness and our reputation around the world is immense and that the threat to our economy - as the war in Iraq continues to take us deeper into debt - is unacceptable," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an article by MSNBC.

This writer can be contacted at features@theeastcarolinian.com.