[jlogajan]

I'll have to disagree with you here. In a situation like this you can't really know who your enemies are (or where they are) until you are fired upon by them. That usually kills a few of yours. But then you wipe them out. That's just the nature of war. So yeah, taking casulties is sort of a functional necessity to prosecute the war.

[Dutch Boy]

MARQUETTE, Mich. March 4 — Snow fell on parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Sunday, the tail end of a storm blamed for more than 20 deaths along its track from Texas, where the midday temperature at Dallas was only 28.

This was posted several times in FR today. The storm kills double the people than in the war in Afghanistan with enemies shooting guns and other ordinance. Were is the media hand wringing on the deaths from snow? Must be that it doesn't fit the talking points memo on "Things to do to derail Bush."

[Illbay]

I see your point, but all that tells us is that the risk is higher. I doubt seriously if the CO of this unit is shrugging his shoulders and saying "ah, who knew?"

These are things we cannot ever afford to be flippant about.