You have probobly already seen this:

Asked how many American troops have died in Iraq, the Pentagon[base ']s No. 2 civilian estimated Thursday the total was about 500 [~] more than 200 soldiers short.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was asked about the toll at a hearing of a House appropriations subcommittee. [base "]It[base ']s approximately 500, of which [~] I can get the exact numbers [~] approximately 350 are combat deaths,[per thou] he responded.

The Representative that asked the question was Marcy Kaptur, the Congresswoman from Toledo. While this incident will be regarded by some on the Right as a liberal trying to catch an administration official out, no one should forget that concern for veterans has been a consistent hallmark of her term in the House of Representatives.

"My only disappointment is that so many of those who would have appreciated being able to see and visit the memorial are no longer with us," said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.

Kaptur introduced bills to create the memorial four times between 1987 and 1993 before one became law.

"The longer time dragged on," Kaptur said, "the harder it became."

A veteran from her district, retired mail carrier Roger Durbin, first suggested the idea for a memorial. He became the soul of the project, but he died in 2000 at the age of 79.

Durbin first raised the issue in 1987 at a political fish fry on the shores of Lake Erie. He stunned a roomful of Kaptur's hungry constituents by shouting: "Congresswoman Kaptur! Why is there no World War II memorial in Washington?"

Outside of Toledo, Kaptur is known as a liberal who voted against the first Gulf War, and a misconstrued comment last year about Osama bin Laden. In Toledo--no hot bed of liberalism--she is known for her attention to veteran's issues (she is an honorary lifetime member of a local VFW post), an advocate for seniors and farmers and bringing in federal dollars for urban development. In fact, she is barely even controversial in her hometown.

So next the time the patriotism of the Left is questioned, remember the Congresswoman who receives standing ovations from veteran's groups and who fought for a WW II memorial for over a decade. And remember which Pentagon official can't even remember how many American soldiers have died fighting a war he championed.
8:30:38 PM  #