American Casualties In Iraq Reach 4,000

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The number of American casualties in Iraq reached 4,000 on Sunday, less than a week after the fifth anniversary of the war was marked with an address from President George Bush saying the U.S. had "rescued millions from unspeakable horrors" in Iraq as well as continued criticism from opponents.

Four American soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 4,000, according to CNN. A defense department spokesman, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, is quoted by AFP as saying, "No casualty is more or less significant than another; each soldier, marine, airman and sailor is equally precious and their loss equally tragic."

Estimates of war-related Iraqi deaths vary from about 80,000, according to the Iraq Body Count, to about 150,000, according to the Iraqi Health Ministry.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Monday that President Bush grieved for every lost American life, from the very first several years ago to those lost today," according to Xinhua. The President last week continued his defense of the war in a speech to commemorate the war's fifth year, saying, "Because we acted, Saddam Hussein no longer fills fields with the remains of innocent men, women and children... Because we acted, Saddam's regime is no longer invading its neighbors or attacking them with chemical weapons and ballistic missiles."

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a press conference last Wednesday that he was considering suspending reductions in U.S. military personnel in Iraq so that defense officials could re-assess the post-surge strategy.

Iraq was part of the "axis of evil" President George Bush warned about after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. President Bush also claimed Hussein was working with al-Qaeda and developing weapons of mass destruction including anthrax. In March 2003, a coalition led by the U.S. and sanctioned by the U.N. invaded Iraq.

A report that was supposed to be released by the Joint Forces Command website a week before the anniversary was put on hold by defense officials, according to ABC News. The report, a review of more than 600,000 documents confiscated after the invasion, found no evidence of collusion between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda.

White House contenders had used the anniversary to make their pitches to soldiers and veterans but made significantly less effort to politicize news of the death toll.

"In the last five years, our soldiers have done everything we asked of them and more," Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said in a statement posted on her website. "They were asked to remove Saddam Hussein from power and bring him to justice and they did. They were asked to give the Iraqi people the opportunity for free and fair elections and they did. They were asked to give the Iraqi government the space and time for political reconciliation, and they did."

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) similarly did very little Bush-bashing. "It is with great sadness that we have reached another grim milestone in Iraq... Each death is a tragedy, and we honor every fallen American... It is past time to end this war that should never have been waged by bringing our troops home, and finally pushing Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future," he said in a statement, according to Talking Points Memo.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sent no official statement but continued his support for the war last week, "America and our allies stand on the precipice of winning a major victory against radical Islamic extremism. The security gains over the past year have been dramatic and undeniable."