"...let us also mourn the loss of the many thousands of people that could not be saved by the best efforts of our troops."

I really appreciate the respect for the people who serve in our military expressed by this wording. I've wondered before about the best way to describe civilian casualties. This wording recognizes the truth that our military people do for the most part go out of their way to minimize civilian casualties.

At the same time, I feel compelled to disagree with the implicit notion that these civilians "could not be saved." We not only must acknowledge that some breakdowns of military discipline and some breakdowns of policy have resulted in unjustifiable violence toward civilians in Iraq (as should be expected in any war). We also must admit, however painful it is to say to those serving in the military and their families, and however limited my own understanding of the realities in Iraq given my location safe at home in Wisconsin, that the deaths of these civilians (and combatants) are not just and are not necessary. These sacrifices, which we rightly remember, may or may not eventually leave Iraq in a better state than when it started. Of course we hope it does. But what we proclaim is that there is a much better way, one that could start with the U.S. apologizing for our shameful history in Iraq over the past several decades, committing to paying reparations and providing other assistance with deference to the will of the Iraqi people, and renouncing all plans for permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq or claims to any kind of preferential access to Iraq's resources.

I think it is also worth mentioning that any military person who judges that what they are being asked to do (whether a particular action or participating in a particular war in general) is morally wrong, they must refuse to participate. God's law is above civil law and military code. And there is support for those who make this difficult decision to follow their conscience, such as The Catholic Peace Fellowship.