New year milestone

Or should that be millstone? As the year turns here, in Iraq a grim marker has also been reached. According to the AP's count we just reached 3,000 war dead in Iraq. If only we could stop the counter there but I'm afraid we'll hit that millenium mark again before it's all over.

Even worse, as Juan Cole points out, 3,000 is the lowest number by which we can measure this loss. Uncounted are the troops of the "willing coalition" and the civilian contractors and the thousands of permanently disabled soldiers that lived through their tours but now will suffer a lifetime sentence of lost limbs, permanent disfigurements and/or shattered minds.

So as you raise your glass in celebrations of life tonight, as you should, take a moment to toast those who won't be coming back for the party.