Today the war in Iraq passed a very sad milestone: the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq has now exceeded the number of persons killed in the 9/11 attacks. The number believed to have been killed in the 9/11 attacks is 2,973 (not including the 19 hijackers). The deaths of seven Americans announced today brings the U.S. military deaths in Iraq since 2003 to 2,978, five more than the number killed in the 9/11 attacks.

  Of course, the raw numbers are only a part of the picture. Different people will draw very different lessons about what these numbers mean. To some, they reinforce how wasteful the war has been. To others, they show how costly the fight for freedom must be. Either way, I thought this sad moment seemed worth pointing out.