What kind of sicko celebrates this "milestone"?

Michelle Malkin is not too happy with the political exploitation of the military deaths in Iraq. Neither does U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Boylan.

Boylan said in an e-mail. "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives."

...

"Celebrate the daily milestones, the accomplishments they have secured and look to the future of a free and democratic Iraq and to the day that all of our troops return home to the heroes welcome they deserve," Boylan wrote.

It is quite sad. Many of my friends first think of the deaths in Iraq, but are not as aware of the good works done by coalition troops there. What's worse, this sort of reporting done by the MSM also leads to nuts like Cindy Sheehan.

"I'm going to go to Washington, D.C. and I'm going to give a speech at the White House, and after I do, I'm going to tie myself to the fence and refuse to leave until they agree to bring our troops home," Sheehan said in a telephone interview last week as the milestone approached.

"And I'll probably get arrested, and when I get out, I'll go back and do the same thing," she said.

I empathize with Cindy over the loss of her son, but as I have noted before, these soldiers, including Casey Sheehan, volunteered for duty, knowing full-well the potential risks. To use their sacrifice as nothing more than a political tool is disgraceful and pathetic.

If one must think of the 2,000 soldiers that have died, do not (mistakenly) think of them as mislead pawns; rather, think of the 2,000 men and women who believed so strongly in the ideals of democracy and freedom as heroes, protecting millions of people.

UPDATE 10:40 PM: Cox and Forkum share in this concern.