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."
- 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.
You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com.
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...