I remember during the Vietnam War, the body counts would be on the top of the television screen every night during the news. It was a terrible time.

Who cares if they provide more lies in the form of body counts? What we need is people in government who care about protecting the rights of other people by having integrity and the courage to use it.

If you want to know about government (and military) use of body counts, read "The Making of a Quagmire" by David Halberstam, a reporter and first hand witness of the early days in Vietnam. You will recognize that the only thing we learned for the 58,000 dead is that our government and military see some good, probably for themselves, in waging pointless un-winnable wars.

How many bodies on either side, civilian or military, how years and at what financial cost?

Keep asking the tough questions and how for some answers that make sense.

Dear Mr. David Gregory:
Interesting blog.
I did not see the interaction between you and Snow, but I am glad that he aplogized. I think both of you do an excellent job and both of you come off as being kind people.

Please blog more.

Body count? Who in Washington cares about body count? While our soldiers are dying they(Democrats and Republicans) are sitting at their desks in three-piece suits wondering when they are going to recess for Christmas. Bastards! I hate every one of them. We need Libertarians in Washington. I want both parties destroyed.

David, when will NBC declare a "civil war" in Palestine.

Does management sense it yet....we are getting that civil war vibe.

David, hang in there! Keep asking the tough questions! Please, always remember what the great journalist I.F. Stone said so often: "All governments lie!" and none worse than the current administration! Keep up the good work!

excuse me, but if you can let the "American Citizen" post the trash they did you can let mine through.

Maybe Cheney didn't want to fight in a democrat war based on lies. When Liberals make that stand now they congratulate each other for their courage to speak truth to power. Where's the empathy? Isn't that what "you people" are suppose to be the best at?

Would it help if I signed it A Real American Citizen

"Yesterday Coalition Forces killed XXX terrorists."

Shades of the Five O'Clock Follies! Are we now going to destroy Baghdad in order to save it?

David Gregory, sorry to hear you've become such a pain in the butt for Tony Snow and the President, but keep up the good work ask the questions they don't won't to answer. Let's see Saddam was tried, found guilty of murder, sentenced to death for sending his soldiers to kill how many Iraqi's, just because they tried to kill him. President Bush sent our soldiers based on false intelligence and his total dislike for Saddam to kill how many Iraqi's? Everyone keeps saying impeach the President, but is he any less guilty than Saddam for having innocent Iraqi's killed?
This is a little off the subject but with your resources, and all the talk about the "Size of Government". I would still like to know what percentage of the American people are on the government payroll. I'm talking about federal, state, and local governments. I may be surprised but I think the number would be overwhelming.

David. please continue to hold the press secretary's feet to the fire. Snow's glib, patronizing attitude is nauseating.

Maybe Cheney didn't want to fight in a democrat war based on lies. When Liberals make that stand now they congratulate each other for their courage to speak truth to power. Where's the empathy? Isn't that what "you people" are suppose to be the best at?

Iraq is what you get when the problem is dictating the solution.

What's next, Dick Cheney dressed up in his tiger stripe fatigues with an ear necklace. Why do the biggest cowards try to talk the toughest. My God, he had sex with Lynn Cheney in order to avoid combat!Now that's desperate.

Are we using the number of "other" deaths as a measure of sucess in Iraq? Why not figures about the number of sodas or hamburgers or basketballs or dolls that are distributed on the streets to anyone who wants them? They are all much less expensive than weapons.

The only body count we need is the number of Iraqis willing to deal honestly with each other. Until that number is known there is no real debate.

As worried as I am about Bush increasing troop strength as a post holiday "present", I'm concerned about the recent SWIFT roundup of undocumented workers in Colorado...

Many, many children have been suddenly abandoned without anyone being able to care for them. This is a horrible tragedy, right here in America, that is unfolding. No social service agency was notified of the raid and no one was prepared for the outfall of it..

Please cover this on the news!

The problem I immediately see with the "Body Count" is that it doesn't represent "Terrorist" killed, but rather represents the dead in Iraq, less our own armed services. The figure is therefore pretty much a meaningless number. If representative of anything, it represents in major part, the deaths of those we went there to free!

Does any one remember the talking points of the initial mission.. Kill Saddam, Free the people of Iraq, become welcome Heroes! So far none of these have been realized. Only meaningless death and destruction. Our strategists and strategies thus far demonstrate limited insight, and far less foresight!

Our technology is great, but more and more we seem to want to let technology manage itself, instead of letting people manage the technology.

The human mind, what a terrible thing to waste!

I do not trust W.'s announcement of those killed in Iraq as a testamony that the man actually cares about those dead soldiers. Everything thus far has been done with the fastidious effort of desensatizing the public about the war. He knows that war in the public's face may render a shorter war than he wants which is why no photos of the returning caskets, no discussion of the war dead as much as possible, no visitations with members of the family who have suffered a loss. This man is an elitist and he believes that as a volunteer army, the dead soldier got was he wanted, service rendered for pay, for that is what the poor need: pay, and that is what they get when they volunteer. Bush is feining concern for the military and why not? He is down in the polls and must muster any kind of support he can even if he has to lie about it(what else is new?) A long and drawn out war is anticipated by his own measure which fits well within the PNAC agenda. His mission is to support PNAC at whatever cost(and that includes soldiers). This man doesn't care about the means, he cares about the ends(which fits his hubris and arrogance).

There is no progress report that the American public will accept unless it includes an exit date. We can't win when seemingly everyone can't stand us being there, and that sentiment grows by the day. I DO think that military commanders have indirectly indicated what they thought they were up against in percentage terms. I saw a news report (on NBC) recently where percentages were used, and by doing the math I came up with a figure around 65,000 (if memory serves) insurgent fighters. I wish I could remember the date I saw the report, but I remember commenting to my wife that I hadn't remembered them EVER indicating what they thought they were up against.
However, it really doesn't matter, it's Viet Nam all over again, and body count figures will just make it seem more so.
Hopefully the brave men and women that are caught up in the middle of all this will come home soon.