4,000

that's the U.S. death toll in Iraq, reached this past weekend, as reported by nearly every news source out there. (that's not including civilians, which is near 90,000 & rising) ThinkProgress has an interesting/little known fact though:

"At least 97 percent of the deaths occurred after US President George W. Bush announced the end of “major combat” in Iraq on May 1, 2003, as the military became caught between a raging anti-American insurgency and brutal sectarian strife unleashed since the toppling of Saddam.

Despite the losses, Bush on the eve of the war’s fifth anniversary defended his decision to invade Iraq, vowing no retreat as he promised American soldiers would triumph despite the “high cost in lives and treasure.”

(mosaic image of fallen soldiers courtesy Nico Pitney @ HuffPo)