2700

There are 2700 US casualties in Iraq as of this writing.

13 families have not been notified. 13 families think their life is still normal and that their loved one is still coming home. They don't know their life has been turned upside down.They will spend the next several days waiting, signing forms, planning a funeral, and crashing into a military culture where their only connection may have been their loved one. They will hear terms like PNOK, KIA, DOW, and the only thing they want is their old life back.

The casualty numbers will click over to 2701, 2702, and so on and the media will not mark this number and neither will the general public. They probably won't notice because they don't have to. They may not think about this war today or tomorrow or next week, but we Gold Star Families do. Some politicians say it is wrong to use a milestone number like this to remind people of the continuing casualties and injuries; they say it is political. But this war is political regardless of where you stand on it, so I say if you don't think about this war except when a round number comes up, then today is your day.

I hate hearing about any casualty from this lousy war. I hate that George W Bush or anyone in his administration doesn't think about the human cost of this war and I am sorry for that.

I would like to offer my condolences to all the Gold Star Families regardless of their loved ones casualty number. I am so sorry.