2,000

``The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives.'' - LTC Steve Boylan

With all due respect, sir, there is nothing artificial about my daily fear that an Official Government car will pull into my driveway to deliver unbearably grim news. I assure you that my constant worrying is geniune. The weariness that I detect in my husband's voice, on the rare occasions that he is able to call me, is absolutely real.

But you're right - I do have an ulterior motive in noting the 2,000th death. The daily casualty announcements have gone largely unnoticed in the last couple of years. This grim milestone has actually made the news. For once, the bloody sacrifices made by our military and their families are considered slightly more important than Britney Spears having a hangnail. Thanks for noticing.

As it happens, this attention-garnering "mark on the wall" happened on the same day that LTC Leon James was laid to rest. There is a picture of his three daughters on the cover of today's Washington Post. It is a heartbreaking yet beautiful photograph. Little Katherine is reaching up to comfort her older sister, as soldiers salute Leon one last time.

There is nothing artificial about the pain conveyed by this photograph. Trust me, it's real.