In his explosive essay on torture, Colin Powell’s former chief of staff, Lawrence Wilkerson made this comment in passing:

“More Americans were killed by terrorists on Cheney’s watch than on any other leader’s watch in US history. So his constant claim that no Americans were killed in the “seven and a half years” after 9/11 of his vice presidency takes on a new texture when one considers that fact.”

Huh? Say what you will about the Bush administration’s approach but it is true that we haven’t had any more 9/11-style terrorist attacks. What’s Wilkerson getting at?
This: 4,294 Americans have died in Iraq. Our justification for being in Iraq is that we’re fighting terrorists. Therefore, those American soldiers have been killed by terrorists. Of course, some of those deaths resulted from accidents, friendly fire or being in the middle of sectarian warfare that might not be considered “terrorism.” But that’s not really an argument Iraq war supporters can make since the point of being there was battling terrorists. Certainly more have been killed by terrorists than died on 9/11.
So why do we feel Americans haven’t been touched by terrorism since 9/11? The truth is, we make an unconscious distinction between soldiers and civilians, between deaths here and deaths there. Soldiers volunteer to be in harm’s way; civilians don’t. Deaths in a combat zone on the other size of the world don’t rock our social order the way office buildings exploding too.
As a civilian on American soil, I’m relieved that it’s not my family being attacked. But that way of thinking does implicitly de-value the lives of soldiers. They have mothers and spouses and children, just like the 9/11 victims did. That they’re dying to keep me safe makes their sacrifice even greater — and our gratitude more intense.
So let’s give new prayers of thanks — and stop insulting the memory of the soldiers by saying no Americans have been killed by terrorists since 9/11.