I think we also have to think about how many people would be dying if we hadn't gone in - remember that we've found 300,000 to 500,000 people in mass graves so far. That means Saddam was killing at a minimum around 15,000 to 25,000 people a year over his 20 year reign - pretty high numbers. Those don't even include anyone he killed individually and buried in a regular cemetary. Then there's the people who were dying and getting sick from the economic sanctions that have been lifted. I don't think it's as clear cut as opponents of the war want it to be - there would have been a lot of deaths no matter what we did. 2,000 U.S. soldiers is a lot, but as you say, the Iraqis are people too and just as important - and it's not a lot by historical standards of war. We lost 50,000 in Vietnam, and it's a much lower death rate than any recent conflict given the number of troops involved. If we come out of this with a democratic Iraqi government, I think it will have been worth it in the end, if only because of how bad Saddam really was.