Death Toll In Iraq Reaches 2,500

Death Toll in Iraq Reaches 2,500 U.S. Military, Pentagon Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...top_world_news#

(Gold9472: Who cares? It's not like it's my brother, sister, father, or mother dying over there, right? As long as I'm not affected, why should I care if our soldiers are dying? However, don't come to me if you need a soldier. My family is too important to sacrifice. Let the poor folks send their families. It's not like they matter anyway.)

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- The military death toll in Iraq has reached 2,500, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman said.

The number of U.S. military personnel killed in action in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion was 1,972 as of 9 a.m. today New York time, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Martin said. Including members of the U.S. military who have died from other causes, such a illness or accidents, the total death toll is 2,500, Martin said.

Details about latest casualty were not immediately available, Martin said.

President George W. Bush yesterday vowed to resist domestic political pressure to cut back U.S. involvement in Iraq, while polls show that the American public questions the value of staying there.

Half of Americans surveyed in a CBS News poll taken June 10- 11 think the level of violence in Iraq will be unchanged following the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on June 7, while some 30 percent say they believe his death may provoke more attacks against U.S. forces.

Bush said the U.S. won't reduce its force in Iraq until the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is firmly in charge and able to secure and defend the country.

While approval of Bush's job performance went up 1 percentage point to 37 percent in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken after Zarqawi's death and the formation of Maliki's government, it was less than 40 percent for the seventh straight survey, NBC reported.