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US military deaths reach 2,000 in Iraq war
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-26 14:18
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The American military death toll in the Iraq war reached
2,000 Tuesday with the announcements of three more deaths, including an Army
sergeant who died of wounds at a military hospital in Texas and two Marines
killed last week in fighting west of Baghdad.
The 14th of Ramadan
Mosque is seen in the background as US soldiers survey the scene of
Monday's suicide car bombs attack, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Oct. 25,
2005. The US death toll has reached 2,000 since the Iraq
conflict began in 2003. [AP] | The 2,000 mark was
reached amid growing doubts among the American public about the Iraq conflict,
launched in March 2003 to destroy Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass
destruction. None was ever found.
In Washington, the US Senate observed a moment of silence in honor of the
fallen 2,000. "We owe them a deep debt of gratitude for their courage, for their
valor, for their strength, for their commitment to our country," said Republican
Majority Leader Bill Frist.
Critics of the war also acknowledged the sacrifice, even as they questioned
the policies of those who lead it.
"Our armed forces are serving ably in Iraq under enormously difficult
circumstances, and the policy of our government must be worthy of their
sacrifice. Unfortunately, it is not, and the American people know it," said Sen.
Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat.
Sen. Robert Byrd, a veteran Democrat from West Virginia, said Americans
should expect "many more losses to come."
"More than 135,000 US troops remain in Iraq. They did not ask to be sent to
war, but each day, they carry out their duty while risking their lives. It is
only reasonable that the American people, and their elected representatives, ask
more questions about what the future holds in Iraq," Byrd said.
President Bush warned the US public to brace for more casualties in the fight
against "as brutal an enemy as we have ever faced, unconstrained by any notion
of common humanity and by the rules of warfare."
"No one should underestimate the difficulties ahead," Bush said in a speech
Tuesday before the Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives' luncheon in Washington.
As a sign of those challenges, one of Iraq's most
ruthless terror groups — al-Qaida in Iraq — claimed responsibility for Monday's
suicide attacks against hotels housing Western journalists and contractors in
Baghdad, as well as suicide bombings Tuesday in northern Iraq.
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