While we talked politics, they died

20-year-old Army Specialist Zachary McBride was among six soldiers killed Wednesday in Iraq

This week, America's attention was consumed with the New Hampshire debates. I was right there with everyone else, glued to the t.v. After the results were in, we all became obsessed with parsing the numbers and arguing in sometimes heated debates among ourselves over what it all means for the upcoming presidential election.

While we were debating politics this past week, 10 American soldiers died in Iraq. Three names have not yet been released by the Department of Defense, pending notification of their next of kin. The others are listed below.

While the pundits and politicians squabble and vie for your attention, please take a moment to honor the memory of these men who died carrying out the policies of the politicians. Please click on their names to learn more about their lives and the families they leave behind.

Pionk, Matthew
Dozier, Jonathan Kilian
McBride, Zack
Hart, David J.
Merlo, Ivan E.
Pannier, Phillip J.
Hanson, Timothy R.

They died in Diyala Province, Ba'qubah, Samarra, Balad, and Salman Pak. They died far away from their families and friends, while George Bush wines and dines his way across the Mid East, his only agenda the rescuing of his failed legacy as President.