[From the AP] BAGHDAD, Iraq - Three more Marines and a Soldier were killed in battle in Iraq, the military said Friday, making December the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops with the toll reaching 108. [...]

December was shaping up to be one of the worst months for Iraqi civilian deaths since The Associated Press began keeping track in May 2005.

Through Thursday, at least 2,139 Iraqis have been killed in war-related or sectarian violence, an average rate of about 76 people a day, according to an AP count. That compares to at least 2,184 killed in November at an average of about 70 a day, the worst month for Iraqi civilians deaths since May 2005. In October, AP counted at least 1,216 civilians killed.

We've lost. Assuming that anyone can even put occupying a foreign land into those two terms: "win" or "lose". The violence is escalating, month after month... after 48 months of this - how can anyone there have any hope?

The 60% unemployment rate. The 600,000+ Iraqis displaced from the fighting. The 40% of professionals who have fled the country since '03. The (at best) 10 hours of electricity a day (keep in mind, it's 32 degrees at night right now in Bagdad). The poor and already-dead are the only ones who remain in the worst parts of Iraq - everyone else is gone, either by choice or by circumstance. Happy new year...