The # of casualties in any situation is absolutely relevent, and the military factors this into any calculations in war games. 10 soldiers dead is not the same as 100 soldiers dead. 1000 civilians killed is not the same as 1200. If you could put a dollar amount on the emotional and physical damage that the death of a son/father/brother/sister causes, (like a trial lawyer would), lets say that the cost is 1 trillion zillion dollars per death. I really think that some people get numb to this from 24 hour cable bad news coverage, but the death of young folks in a war is not the kind of thing that you just get over in your family. Ever. It hangs like a stink cloud over the rest of your life. Each additional death is another family ruined. I could tell you personal stories, but it's not necessary.
The other factor is that our military personnel are assets to the U.S. that are not to be wasted like so much expendable chopped liver. Bush says that he grieves over every dead soldier, but he sure as hell didn't care enough to have a viable plan for this operation or ever admit that it was a fukced-up meat grinder for the last 3+ years. The only honorable thing he could do at this point, IMO, is admit that he is in over his head and cannot manage this war w/o a lot of help from somewhere. He does not deserve to still have any power over human life and death, he's not qualified. The proof is in the pudding.
After the Virginia Tech shooting, I immediately thought that besides the obvious horror and tragedy, he killed 32 smart people who had a lot to contribute to the world. Apparently, he killed one of the pre-eminent MS researchers in the world. I feel the same way about U.S. soldiers, most are good people that would live productive lives. So it's a quality AND quantity situation.
