Every day, the front pages reflect the toll from yet another bomb blast in Iraq that killed and wounded innocent people. But are we so saturated with daily death counts after more than two years of war that we’re experiencing “compassion fatigue”? Is there an end in sight? What would winning look like? What can any of us do?

At the end of the day there are numbers: dead and wounded from military and insurgent attacks. Memories of life behind a gun haunt soldiers who return home. Iraqis struggle every day in homes and families shattered by war at their doorstep. How many Iraqis are dead and injured? How many U.S. military wounded? Where are the pictures to help us understand?

• Iraqi civilian casualties: 21,000 to 24,000, estimated
  
  
• U.S. military casualties: 1,601, confirmed as of May 10
  
  
• At least 250 enlistees and volunteers for the Iraqi security forces and about 150 others, mainly civilians, have been killed in the past two weeks. This was one of the most violent passages in the 25 months of war reports the New York Times.
  
  
• The U.S. count of major world terrorist attacks more than tripled in 2004, according to Congressional aides, from 175 in 2003 to 650 last year.

Iraqis who are skeptical of the reconstruction effort that is part and parcel to military occupation target newly built infrastructures. Can coalition forces gain enough trust to meet the needs of Iraqi people? What is driving the continuing resistance to U.S. presence? How is the new government being received across the countryside? Are there other options?

• Aid workers say that persistent violence and the fear of being associated with the U.S.-led coalition have limited the scope and neutrality of humanitarian agencies in Iraq.
  
  
• Support for the decision to go to war in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level since the campaign began in March 2003, according to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll. 57% of Americans say it wasn't worth it.

What is the “ethical” way to exit? Should we stay in Iraq or go, and would it be a mistake just to pick up and leave now? Why haven’t we been able to stop insurgents in Iraq? Who are the insurgents and what are they fighting for? How does U.S. presence feed a popular resistance? At what point is military response no longer our best option? What is life like for the average Iraqi? What are the stories behind the numbers of casualties? Can Americans grasp the depth of the toll war takes on average people if the media doesn’t expose the extent of the damage? What’s it like for our women and men on the front lines? Besides military action, what are our tax dollars paying for over there? How can we help our military and Iraqis stabilize the country?

Talking Points