Christopher Cosgrove, 23, the 61st service member with ties to NJ to die in Iraq

I didn't know him. But I read the story about him on page 13 in yesterday's Ledger. I always feel it's the least I can do, depressing as it is...putting a name, face, life story to the statistics. It's the accompanying yearbook pictures that always get you...that hammer home how young these people are who are across the world fighting, and dying, for our country. But what ARE they fighting for exactly? It's their decision to serve, and with war comes death, but i'm getting very tired of reading these obituaries. I'm no war strategist, but how many men and women have to die before the Bush administration maybe decides that their Iraq "plan" isn't working quite well? It occurred to me yesterday for the first time (inexplicably, perhaps) that the death toll from Sept. 11th is still rising.