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Attacks taking a toll on U.S.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 1, 2007

WASHINGTON - American deaths in the Iraq war reached the symbolic milestone of 3,000 on Sunday even as the Bush administration sought to overhaul its strategy for an unpopular conflict that shows little sign of abating.

The number reflects how much more dangerous and muddled a soldier's job in Iraq has become in the face of a growing and increasingly sophisticated insurgency. Violence in the country is at an all-time high, according to a Pentagon report released last month.

For example, December was the third-deadliest month for American troops since the start of the war, with insurgents claiming at least 111 soldiers' lives. October and November also witnessed a jump in casualties, 106 and 68 respectively, as American forces stepped up combat operations to try to stabilize Baghdad.

The Pentagon on Sunday announced the deaths of two soldiers, pushing the total to 3,000 since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. One was killed in an explosion on Saturday, and the other was killed in an explosion on Friday.

The latest identifications reported by the military were Army Spc. Dustin R. Donica, 22, of Spring, Texas, who died Thursday in Baghdad of wounds from small arms fire; Army Sgt. Christopher P. Messer, 28, of Petersburg, Mich., who died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds from an explosive device; and Army Pfc. Nathaniel A. Given, 21, of Dickinson, Texas, who died Wednesday in Baghdad of wounds from an explosive device.

President Bush is struggling to salvage a military campaign that, more than 3 1/2 years after U.S. forces overran the country, has scant support from the American public.

Three thousand deaths are tiny compared with casualties in other protracted wars America has fought in the last century. There were 58,000 Americans killed in the Vietnam War and 405,000 in World War II, according to Defense Department figures.

Even so, the steadily mounting toll in Iraq underscores the relentless violence that the massive U.S. investment in lives and money - surpassing $350-billion - has yet to tame, and may in fact still be getting worse.

In many ways, the third 1,000 men and women to die in Iraq faced the same unflinching challenge as the second 1,000 soldiers to die there - a dedicated and ruthless Iraqi insurgency that has exploited the power of roadside bombs to chilling effect. These bombs now cause about half of all American combat deaths and injuries in Iraq.

Overall, the casualty rate has remained relatively steady since last year, dipping slightly. It took 14 months for the death toll to go from 1,000 to 2,000 soldiers. It took about two weeks longer than that for it to rise from 2,000 to 3,000, during the period covering Oct. 25, 2005, to last week.

"It is hugely frustrating, tragic and disappointing that we can't reduce the fatality rate," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military analyst for the Brookings Institution.

Military leaders played down the significance of passing the 3,000 threshold for deaths.

"We don't count that way because each one is important to us," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman in Baghdad. "Number 2,999 means the same to us as number 3,000. It's an arbitrary number that doesn't mean anything to us."

In December, a Pentagon report on Iraq said that the conflict now is more a struggle between Sunni and Shiite armed groups "fighting for religious, political and economic influence," with the insurgency and foreign terrorist campaigns "a backdrop."

From mid August to mid November, the weekly average number of attacks increased 22 percent from the previous three months. The worst violence was in Baghdad and in the western province of Anbar, long the focus of activity by Sunni insurgents, the report said.

Although U.S.-led coalition forces remained the target of the majority of attacks, the overwhelming majority of casualties were suffered by Iraqis, the report said.

Bush told an end-of-the-year news conference that the deaths distress him.

"The most painful aspect of the presidency is the fact that I know my decisions have caused young men and women to lose their lives," Bush said.

Asked about the 3,000 figure, deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel said Sunday that Bush "will ensure their sacrifice was not made in vain."

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., called the figure a "tragic milestone" and said the government needs a new policy.

Bush is considering a change in strategy that could include sending in more troops. There are 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended removing most combat forces by early 2008 and shifting the U.S. role to advising and supporting Iraqi units.

[Last modified January 1, 2007, 00:25:37]