Sixty-One Troops Lost So Far This Month on Bush's March to "Victory"

During George W. Bush's press conference yesterday, a reporter brought up the overwhelming opposition among the American people to continuing our military presence in Iraq and asked "…are you still willing to follow a path that seems to be in opposition to the will of the American people?"

Said Bush: "I am willing to follow a path that leads to victory, and that's exactly why we're conducting the review we are. Victory in Iraq is achievable…. it's been a tough period for the American people. They want to see success. And our objective is to put a plan in place that achieves that success. I'm often asked about public opinion. Of course, I want public opinion to support the efforts. I understand that. But, Jim, I also understand the consequences of failure. And, therefore, I'm going to work with the Iraqis and our military and politicians from both political parties to achieve success."

As a stark reminder of the dreadful toll we can expect as long as Bush is allowed to continue with his twisted mission for the Iraq quagmire, here are the names of the 61 troops we have lost in Iraq in just the first 19 days of December:

• Lance Cpl. Jesse D. Tillery, 19, of Vesper, Wis.,
• Spc. Bryan T. McDonough, 22, of Maplewood, Minn.
• Spc. Corey J. Rystad, 20, of Red Lake Falls, Minn.
• Capt. Kermit O. Evans, 31, of Hollandale, Miss.
• Pvt. Troy D. Cooper, 21, of Amarillo, Texas
• Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, 19, of Knox, Pa.
• Hospitalman Christopher A. Anderson, 24, of Longmont, Colo.
• Lance Cpl. Thomas P. Echols, 20, of Shepherdsville, Ky.
• Capt. Shawn L. English, 35, of Westerville, Ohio
• Maj. Joseph T. McCloud, 39, of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.
• Cpl. Joshua C. Sticklen, 24, of Virginia Beach, Va.
• Pfc. Nicholas D. Turcotte, 23, of Maple Grove, Minn.
• Sgt. Keith E. Fiscus, 26, of Townsend, Del.
• Spc. Kenneth W. Haines, 25, of Fulton, N.Y.
• Sgt. Yevgeniy Ryndych, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
• Spc. Jordan W. Hess, 26, of Marysville, Wash.
• Staff Sgt. Robert L. Love Jr., 28, of Meridian, Miss.
• Spc. Marco L. Miller, 36, of Longwood, Fla.
• Lance Cpl. Brent E. Beeler, 22, of Jackson, Mich.
• Cpl. Billy B. Farris, 20, of Bapchule, Ariz.
• Sgt. Jay R. Gauthreaux, 26, of Thibodaux, La.
• Spc. Nicholas R. Gibbs, 25, of Stokesdale, N.C.
• Cpl. Dustin J. Libby, 22, of Presque Isle, Maine
• Sgt. Jesse J.J. Castro, 22, of Chalan Pago, Guam.
• Cpl. Jason I. Huffman, 23, of Conover, N.C.
• Spc. Joshua B. Madden, 21, of Sibley, La.
• Cpl. Yari Mokri, 26, of Pflugerville, Texas.
• Pfc. Travis C. Krege, 24, of Cheektowaga, N.Y.
• Capt. Travis L. Patriquin, 32, of Texas.
• Spc. Vincent J. Pomante III, 22, of Westerville, Ohio.
• Staff Sgt. Henry W. Linck, 23, of Manhattan, Kan.
• Spc. Micah S. Gifford, 27, of Redding, Calif.
• Staff Sgt. Kristofer R. Ciraso, 26, of Bangor, Maine
• Maj. Megan M. McClung, 34, of Coupeville, Wash.
• Lance Cpl. Cody G. Watson, 21, of Oxford, Ala.
• Staff Sgt. Thomas W. Clemons, 37, of Leitchfield, Ky.
• 1st Lt. Nathan M. Krissoff, 25, of Reno, Nev.
• Sgt. Brennan C. Gibson, 26, of Tualatin, Ore.
• Spc. Philip C. Ford, 21, of Freeport, Texas
• Spc. Shawn M. Murphy, 24, of Fort Bragg, N.C.
• Lance Cpl. Budd M. Cote, 21, of Marana, Ariz.
• Cpl. Matthew V. Dillon, 25, of Aiken, S.C.
• Lance Cpl. Clinton J. Miller, 23, of Greenfield, Iowa
• Master Sgt. Brian P. McAnulty, 39, of Vicksburg, Miss.
• Sgt. Brent W. Dunkleberger, 29, of New Bloomfield, Pa.
• Spc. Nicholas P. Steinbacher, 22, of La Crescenta, Calif.
• Pfc. Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia.
• Pfc. Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21 of Miami.
• Pfc. Paul Balint Jr., 22, of Willow Park, Texas
• Lance Cpl. Nicklas J. Palmer, 19, of Leadville, Colo.
• Capt. Kevin M. Kryst, 27, of West Bend, Wis.
• Lance Cpl. Matthew W. Clark, 22, of St. Louis, Mo.
• Lance Cpl. Luke C. Yepsen, 20, of Kingwood, Texas.
• Staff Sgt. Henry K. Kahalewai, 43, of Hilo, Hawaii
• Pfc. Joe L. Baines, 19, of Newark, N.J.
• Staff Sgt. David R. Staats, 30, of Pueblo, Colo.
• Spc. Matthew J. Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro Falls, N.H.
• Pfc. Seth M. Stanton, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Cpl. Joshua D. Pickard, 20, of Merced, Calif.
• Staff Sgt. Brian L. Mintzlaff, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas
• Spc. Andrew P. Daul, 21, of Brighton, Mich.

In case you're wondering, the average age of those killed is 25 years old.

Update: To those of you e-mailing or commenting to tell me that the number is higher than 61 people lost so far this month: You are correct and I probably could have chosen a better headline. I wanted to list the names of those killed so we could see very clearly who these men and women were and this is the number (and names) I am able to confirm for the month of December from the Defense Department.

But the point remains the same...