In Iraq, what's in a number?

The number of U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war has passed the 2,000 mark.

Just a number? Perhaps. To pass the number 2,000, another soldier teetered on consciousness, drew the last breath and was gone. And all the hopes that rode on him and all the prayers that followed him from all the people who loved him are done.

Somewhere in America, relatives will get phone calls asking them to come and sit with a father who is too numb to cry, pick up the children because the widow is inconsolable. They will be called to witness the agony of another American family that has lost a member to this reckless war. Somewhere in a funeral parlor, a small grieving group will gather and shake their heads, and through bitter tears ask why this has happened to their friend. A brave and decent American will be laid in the ground, along with his or her future. Another family will mourn the empty chair at the holiday table and every celebration for the rest of their lives.

We belong to military families who understand the true costs of this war. Celeste's son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, was killed on April 26, 2004, while protecting the Iraq Survey Group as they looked for the weapons of mass destruction - long after everyone knew there were none. Since his death, 1,280 more Americans have died in Iraq, along with countless Iraqis. Many more have been wounded in both body and soul. The justifications given for this war have been exposed as lies.

But the litany of excuses is still repeated by the President - 9/11, links to al-Qaeda, weapons of mass destruction. Somehow, the President's response to the daily death toll of Americans and Iraqis is to stay the course, while more and more Americans daily ask why.

For Anne, the war is a source of continuing anxiety and threat. Her son, a staff sergeant in the Army's 82d Airborne Division, has spent more than 550 days in Iraq since the invasion and is currently serving his third tour of duty there. Prior to his recent deployment, he said, "I don't know what the mission is; I haven't known for a long time." By the spring of 2003, he knew that there were no weapons of mass destruction. While angry that he'd been sent to a war on an empty basis, he hoped he would be part of something useful and good in rebuilding the country. He was in awe of being in Iraq, in the "cradle of civilization," where "even the dirt smells different."