Two thousand U.S. military deaths in Iraq, and the meter is running on a grim tally with no predictable end.

Brave young servicemen and women have been dying since March 2003, and their sacrifice has been the only constant. President Bush and his White House have yet to light on a durable rationale for the war. The emptiness of the initial scare over weapons of mass destruction may be revisited this week as a federal prosecutor contemplates indictments over official lies and smears to protect a falsehood from exposure.

As 2,000 deaths mounted, grasping rhetoric described a war against terrorists — who were not in Iraq before the war began — and finally a campaign to bring democracy to the Middle East. Over the years, the rationale devolved from national emergency to an epic exercise in nation-building.

The president warns of additional sacrifice required. He is speaking only of more military deaths in Iraq, because no apparent sacrifice has ever been asked for, expected or suffered by many Americans at home.

A U.S. military spokesman said the 2,000 figure was not a milestone, and that the number would be exploited by critics of the war for their own purposes. That was a political comment, odd coming from a professional soldier.

This is an entirely appropriate moment for civilians to pause and acknowledge the willingness of members of the armed services to commit their lives to their nation, a sense of duty and their comrades.

Remember, too, how the advice of military experts was ignored at the highest levels of the Bush administration. Generals and senior officers who spoke candidly about the size of the military force required for the job, the duration of the commitment and the capacity of Iraqi forces were all rebuked for plain speaking.

U.S. military forces are stretched thin, with casualties coming among those on their second and third tours of duty in Iraq. National Guard units are being cycled into the arithmetic of combat forces in unprecedented ways. Yet, the Bush administration shrinks from confronting the personnel and financial consequences of the war it started.

Instead it offers the new Iraqi constitution. One wants to find hope in the very existence of the document, but realists know it is as little understood in Iraq as it is here. Vague language on regional autonomy, the division of oil resources and profits and the role of religion separate Sunnis, Kurds and Shiites.

The greatest fear is that 2,000 American lives will have been shed to make Iraq safe for civil war and splintered theocracies.

Humble gratitude and thanks for the ultimate sacrifice of 2,000 Americans will overshadow the deaths suffered by Iraqi soldiers, police and civilians. Conservative estimates range up to 30,000.

Our sons and daughters struggle daily in harm's way, and at times their presence seems almost irrelevant to the bitter war being waged among Iraqis.

Americans are disenchanted with a war they do not understand and the White House cannot explain. Expect more sacrifice, and another milestone.

© 2005 Seattle Times