As we ring in the New Year, Saddam Hussein may have been rushed to the gallows but 3,000 U.S. men and women are dead (and more than 20,000 wounded in hostile action injuries) because of this immoral war–not to mention hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead. From Reuters:

The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq has reached 3,000 since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, an authoritative Web site tracking war deaths said on Sunday.

The milestone comes as President George W. Bush weighs options, including more troops, for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where daily violence plagues Baghdad and much of the country and has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

The Web site, www.icasualties.org, listed the death of Spec. Dustin R. Donica, 22, on December 28 as previously unreported, and said that 3,000 U.S. military personnel had now died.

A U.S. military spokesman in Iraq could not immediately confirm that Donica’s death had not previously been reported.

No soldiers were reported killed by small arms fire on December 28 but the death of an unidentified soldier in a bomb attack north of the capital was announced.