The New York Times used three square inches of newsprint on Tuesday to dispatch two US Army soldiers under the headline "Names of the Dead." Their names – Peter K. Cross and Steven T. Drees – were listed along with hometowns, ranks and ages. Cross was 20 years old. Drees was 19.
They were, the newspaper reported, the latest of 706 Americans "who have died as a part of the Afghan war and related operations." There wasn't enough room for any numbers, names or ages of Afghans who have died as a part of the Afghan war and related operations.
That's the way routine death stories go. But, of course, no amount of newsprint or airtime can do more than scratch the human surface…
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