I just think maybe I appreciate what he was saying from a "functional" perspective.

Fair enough. I just wanted to indicate that I didn't throw that statement out willy-nilly.. My opinions might not always be right, but I do try to use sound logic in illustrating and/or defending them.

Well, we can take comfort that Sarab simply died, but her little sister Yasimina lost one arm, a foot, and part of her lower jaw. Not so simple. Also not so simple the poor lance corporal who lost both legs this past weekend to a land mine.

I don't think it's about taking comfort, because war, no matter what, isn't comfortable. This military strategy is about doing what's best for the largest amount of people. My original statement (and, I think, the origin of this particular tangent) adds the caveat that, on some level, I believe American military lives are more precious than lives of civilians, especially if those civilians aren't doing everything they can to get out of the way. In the long run, any threat to a small number of civilians is a consequence of the effort to benefit all the people in Iraq, not just those of the Ba'ath party and those who support them.