A sad but inevitable milestone for the
US mission in Iraq was reached over the weekend, as the number of US soldiers killed there reached
4000.
The four soldiers whose deaths brought the total number to its new mark were killed when their patrol vehicle was hit with a mortar at around 10pm in southern Baghdad. That attack was part of a wave of violence that left 61 others dead across Iraq, according to the Associated Press.
The conflict in Iraq has proven to be a much bloodier one than many thought at the time of the invasion; the official figure for American wounded in Iraq is around
29,000 and the independent group Iraq Body Count estimates the total number of Iraqi civilian causalities to be around
89,000. Other counts are much higher.
This grim milestone will likely filter into the presidential race and we wouldn't be surprised to see presidential candidates meeting with soldiers' families or attending funerals. But at the same time, we wouldn't be surprised if they didn't mention it at all.
