Death toll hits 1,800; 21 Marines die in 3 days

When is someone-- anyone-- on the right going to stand up and say "Enough" to the party leadership? They keep dispensing cheery bromides even as the situation deteriorates day by day.

Mission accomplished, freedom on the march, last throes, the media exaggerates the bad news-- all lies. The war itself is being paid for by credit cards, in essence, since the administration has insisted on cutting taxes and borrowing from China and others to pay for this massive failure. Talk about a double whammy. Not only have we blown the war, but we haven't even had to pay for it yet.

On Monday, six Marine sniper team members were killed in a firefight near the same city and a Marine was killed in nearby Hit. Twenty-one Marines have been killed in the region in three days. The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 1,820, according to U.S. military reports.

All 21 Marines who were killed Monday and Wednesday were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, part of the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force.

Haditha and Hit are Sunni Arab cities along the Euphrates River about 135 miles (217 kilometers) and 95 miles (152 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, respectively. U.S. and Iraqi troops recently have been trying to clear insurgents out of both cities.