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OpinionSeptember 13, 2004

Los Angeles Times Six U.S. soldiers were killed, two Italian aid workers were kidnapped and warplanes bombed a Sunni enclave in Fallouja, a city mostly off-limits to coalition troops. It was just another day in the war Tuesday, except for the numbers. By this morning, Iraq time, the Associated Press count of casualties stated that 1,000 U.S. troops had been killed in Iraq. .....

Los Angeles Times

Six U.S. soldiers were killed, two Italian aid workers were kidnapped and warplanes bombed a Sunni enclave in Fallouja, a city mostly off-limits to coalition troops. It was just another day in the war Tuesday, except for the numbers. By this morning, Iraq time, the Associated Press count of casualties stated that 1,000 U.S. troops had been killed in Iraq. ...

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It is an obvious point at which to ask: To what end are U.S. personnel continuing to die? What is it that commanders should tell their troops as they head into lethal streets? Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that violence was increasing because insurgents viewed peaceful balloting, set for January, and a democratic constitution as enemies. That conclusion is debatable, perhaps even a smoke screen. What's not in doubt is insurgents' view of U.S. troops as the enemy. It's a belief that unites adherents of the Sunni brand of Islam, who have forced coalition troops out of much or all of the cities of Fallouja, Ramadi and Samarra, and the Shiite Muslims who fought the Americans in the sacred city of Najaf. ...

The U.S. will not win a war of attrition. Such wars do not favor occupying armies. Enclaves off-limits to soldiers give insurgents staging areas. ...

Invading nations have an obligation to try to repair the damage they cause, but armies also need a clearly defined mission. How much are U.S. troops supposed to rebuild? Are they still meant to install democracy? Or will the U.S. settle for any kind of political stability, even if repressive clerics rule the country?

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