ITWASSOOTED: Tony Snow on U.S. Death #2500 in Iraq: "It's a Number"

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Tony Snow on U.S. Death #2500 in Iraq: "It's a Number"

By E&P Staff

Published: June 15, 2006 4:20 PM ET


NEW YORK As Congress carried out a rare debate on Iraq today, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was meeting reporters a few miles away.

Not surprisingly, the first question had to do with a landmark today -- the announcement that the American death toll in Iraq had reached 2500. A later question asked about specific progress in the war. Here is how those exchanges went down.

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Q Tony, American deaths in Iraq have reached 2,500. Is there any response or reaction from the President on that?

MR. SNOW: It's a number, and every time there's one of these 500 benchmarks people want something. The President would like the war to be over now. Everybody would like the war to be over now. And the one thing that we saw in Iraq this week is further testimony to the quality of the men and the women who are doing that, and the dedication and determination to try to ensure that the people of Iraq really do live in a free, effective democracy of their own creation and design.
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