sonofabush to make sure the sacrifice of the 3,000 "was not made in vain."

[Philosoraptor]

At Bush's Crawford, Tex., ranch, deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel said the President was planning a new strategy for Iraq to make sure the sacrifice of the 3,000 "was not made in vain."

Army Gen. John Abizaid, the head of the Central Command, and the military service chiefs warned against a troop increase last month.

In his New Year's message to the nation and the troops, Bush made no mention of casualties and did not indicate when he will spell out the "new way forward" in Iraq he has promised to disclose this month.

He pledged to "work toward a free and unified Iraq" in the coming year and said, "We will answer history's call with confidence and fight for liberty without wavering."
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What will the final tally be in the great casualty counter in the sky? Will it be 6 thousand dead soldiers before it's all over? 10,000? Or will we at least try to equal the paltry Vietnam sums?

3000 of our sons and daughters are dead now, and America still stands exactly as it was 6 years ago. Iraq is still swimming in rivers of blood, the president wants to send tens of thousands more into the vortex, how many will it ultimately take to satisfy our wealthiest, most powerful men?