This week marks the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. It may also mark the 4000th U.S. service person killed in action in that country. As we continue to move towards the 2008 elections, it’s important that we pause and remember Iraq. With all the news being made in the race for the White House, there’s a tendency to turn a blind eye toward that place in the world where so many of our brave men and women are fighting and dying. Lest we forget, here are some facts & figures to reflect on:

Initial cost estimate of Iraq war: $50 billion

Cost of Iraq war to date: $504 billion

U.S cost per month: $12 billion (in 2008)

Estimated final cost: $1-4 trillion

U.S. Fatalities: 3,992

U.S. Casualties: 40,229

Journalists Killed: 306

Contractors Killed: 1,016

Iraqi Fatalities: (89,000 documented / 600K+ est)

Avg Daily attacks on coalition forces: 60 (1.1.08)

Total Iraqi troops trained: 6,000 (as of 5.20.07)

Iraqis Displaced: 2+ million

Bush CNN Approval rating (3.19.03): 71%

Bush CNN Approval rating (3.19.08): 31%

UPDATE: Friend and fellow blogger, Greg Storey says that if Bush was the CEO of a major corporation instead of the President and underestimated the cost of the war to the degree he did, he would have been booted out on his ass long ago. I agree 100%. The only reason why the American people let the war rage on is because there is no draft like there was in Viet Nam. If families were having their kids conscripted for this giant lie of a war, you’d see it end pretty damned quick.

UPDATE II: The grim 4,000 dead milestone was reached on Monday, March 24th when a roadside IED claimed the life of four Marines in Iraq. I cannot stress enough that these 4,000 service men and women did not have to die. This was a war of choice from the start that should never have been fought.