I’m not making lite of the unfortunate happenings in the country we are trying to make peaceful, but I do think it is pretty sad that the deaths of a few people, even accidentally, takes the spotlight over the deaths of those putting themselves in harms way on a daily basis.

U.S. Says It Accidentally Killed 9 Iraqi Civilians - New York Times

BAGHDAD — American forces said Sunday that they had accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians and wounded three in a strike aimed at militants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia south of Baghdad, acknowledging what appeared to be one of the deadliest cases of mistaken identity in recent weeks.

A military statement released late in the day said the accidental killings happened Saturday in Iskandariya, about 25 miles south of the capital, and that the wounded were taken to American military hospitals.

The statement did not further identify the civilian victims, but the Iraqi police said American aircraft, responding to an attack on an American convoy, had erroneously bombed Iraqi civilian guardsmen who have contracted with the American military to fight Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.

Those guardsmen, predominantly Sunnis, are considered a major reason the American military has successfully reduced insurgent violence in Iraq. But in recent weeks scores of the Sunni guardsmen, known variously as Concerned Local Citizens, Awakening Councils and the Sons of Iraq, have been killed in clashes with Qaeda fighters and Shiite militia groups.

According to the website Anti-War.com nearly 3200 U.S. Military has been killed since the war began in March of 93 from combat related injuries. An additional 700 have died in other instances, and while in many papers across the nation I’m sure their names are published… I’m also sure that many of the mainstream news agencies their deaths are foreshadowed by the deaths of these people that also met an untimely demise.

Is one death more catastrophic than another? Should one person judge if one life is more important than another?
While the “standard response” should be a resounding “no”, I beg to differ. War is indeed hell… but those casualties from the forces protecting a country from it’s own self-destruction when they could… make that… should… be in their own homes and attempting their own ideals of the pursuit of happiness. Yes it’s sad someone died, it’s also sad that the people that died aren’t out there fighting for their own country, not willing to stake their own life, and only counting on other to police their neighborhoods and streets.