The United States marked what the American media called a “milestone” in the war against Iraq this week.

The death toll of U.S. military personnel in that ever-escalating conflict surpassed the 1,000 mark, and no end is in sight.

That benchmark received more attention in the media than the war has received in months.

It is not only fitting, but imperative that we now focus – and focus keenly – on what is happening to American troops sent to fight and die in a place where many feel that they should never have been in the first place.

After the 1,000th American death was verified, news reporters quickly began to ask the president and his administration if the war effort was worth the loss.

While again tying the events in Iraq to the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001, a spokesman for the president answered by saying, “We remember, honor and mourn the loss of all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. And we also remember those who lost their lives on September 11.”

Yes, we all remember, honor and mourn those who have paid the supreme price for their country, but the question that has been asked, and the one every American ought to be forced to answer is: Is the loss worth it?

As we ponder that one, we also must ask, “How many is too many?”

When it comes to the destruction of American lives, and the lives of innocent civilians in a war based on misinformation, executed with miscalculations and continued under misguided policies, “How many is too many?”

As the president and his advisers tried to prepare the nation for the invasion of Iraq, they plainly stated that there would be some casualties as there are in every war.

At the same time, the clear indication from the administration was that U.S. military might would quickly conquer “the enemy”; the Iraqi people readily would embrace their new liberators; and a once oppressed country would be on a swift path to becoming a free and democratic society.

It was wrong on all counts.

In those early days of the conflict, many Americans didn’t want to articulate what an acceptable number of casualties would be, but they wanted to think and believe in terms of a handful (in military terms) of deaths, perhaps 100 or less.

After all, in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-91, the number of Americans killed was 382. In the Afghanistan War, which began in 2002, U.S. deaths stood at less that 140 as of last week. .

In addition to those killed in Iraq, more than 7,000 have been wounded, and God knows how many have been emotionally scarred.

Add to those numbers the tens of thousands of Iraqis killed and maimed in attacks by U.S. troops, defiant insurgents and suicide bombers, and we have a situation that none of our leaders foresaw before embarking on this ill-fated mission.

This mission, which is far from being accomplished, is, in fact, a disaster.

We have ourselves in a quagmire, and it seems we are getting deeper. Those paying the price – the “ultimate sacrifice” – are our troops in the armed forces and their families.

Make no mistake, those who have given their lives did not die in vain. They died serving their country, obeying orders and fighting for a cause they had been taught was just and honorable. We cannot, and must not, take anything away from their noble service.

Our political leaders, however, owe it to our servicemen and women to get them out of this mess as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, no matter how quickly it comes now, it will not be quick enough.

We supposedly have “liberated” the people of Iraq, but the sad irony is that we can’t figure out a way to liberate ourselves from this tar-baby of a dilemma.

This war should never have been authorized by the Congress, the president should never have made the decision to invade a sovereign nation, and thousands of American casualties should never have been incurred.

So, to the question, “Is the loss worth it?” the answer is no.

And, “How many is too many?”

One.