[xzins]

Though it hurts, I believe that his death -- and that of the other Americans who have died in Iraq -- was a waste. They were wasted in a belief that democracy would grow simply by removing a dictator -- a careless misunderstanding of what democracy requires. They were wasted by not sending enough troops to do the job needed in the resulting occupation -- a careless disregard for professional military counsel

This parent is wrong.

Those lives were not wasted. Since the cause is JUST, and since the war is certainly NECESSARY, there is no way that these deaths were not ultimately meaningful.

It is only if we bug out, pull out, bad mouth out, coward out, that these lives will be wasted.

How we wish the lives could have come to some other end, but there are only two true hopes about death: (1) That it's not the end of eternal life, and (2) that the life leading to the death was meaningful.

[Frank_2001]

Well stated!

[Swiss]

The parents need to spend a week each in both North Korea and South Korea to see what American soldiers do for freedom.