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# Posted 11:36 PM by Ariel David Adesnik

DO AMERICAN SOLDIERS REALLY STILL BELIEVE IN THEIR MISSION? Steve Fainaru, a WaPo correspondent in Iraq, strongly suggests that the answer is "No". In an front page article entitled "For Many in Iraq, Death Is Quick and Capricious", Fainaru writes that:

The growing number of U.S. military deaths, which reached 2,000 last month and has since risen to 2,035, underscores a grim reality: There are countless ways to die in Iraq...

Asked if he thought [Sgt. Kevin] Davis's death was justified, [Sgt. Pete] Heidt chuckled darkly, repeated the question and paused for several moments.
"We're soldiers," he said finally. "That's what we do. Sometimes we die."

"Dying for Iraq is a horrible way to die," said Spec. Aaron Novak, 25, of Billings, Mont. "But to die for your buddies, that's the way I look at it. Iraq is going to be here a long time after we're gone."

This passage is just a brief aside in article that focuses mainly on the tragic death of Sgt. Robbie McNary, crushed during battle by his own unit's American humvee. But it drew my attention because those of us who still believe in victory in Iraq often point to our soldiers' commitment as evidence of the fact that this war very much is a noble cause.

Although I don't have much choice but to give Fainaru the benefit of the doubt, the NYT's highly selective (and now infamous) editing of Cpl. Starr's final message to his family and girlfriend leaves me wondering whether communication between soldiers and journalists has become entirely dysfunctional.

UPDATE: Noel Shepard is frustrated with this article for a different reason.

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