19,000 Dead.

There was a time in the recent past when none of us would have been surprised to wake up and read this headline in our newspaper about a city in the United States. We expected another attack. It was a matter of "when" not "if."

But that isn't what happened. The 19,000 dead are not us, but our enemies.

USA Today has this:

More than 19,000 militants have been killed in fighting with coalition forces since the insurgency began more than four years ago, according to military statistics released for the first time.The statistics show that 4,882 militants were killed in clashes with coalition forces this year, a 25% increase over all of last year.The increase in enemy deaths this year reflects more aggressive tactics adopted by American forces and an additional 30,000 U.S. troops ordered by the White House this year.

19,000 enemies that will never make it to our shores to kill Americans. 19,000 that will never breed and teach their children the hate that drove them.

I'll take a moment and thank our military for this. We are safe because they are there.

via Gateway Pundit (who should be a daily read for everyone)