Blogger Andrew Olmsted has been killed in Iraq.

MNF-I
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Jan. 3 in As Sadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms fire during combat operations. Both Soldiers were assigned to the Military Transition Team, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

Killed were:

Maj. Andrew J. Olmsted, 37, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Cpt. Thomas J. Casey, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M.

Matt mourns a colleague. Glenn Reynolds also notes this loss.

Obsidian Wings has a wonderful tribute, and Andrew himself left us a last blog post here.

I had exchanged about two words with Major Olmstead over the years. Not much shared between us. He was as expert an observer as there is concerning the War on Terror. I believe this was his second tour.

We mourn his loss.

Andrew writes:
But for those who knew me and feel this pain, I think it’s a good thing to realize that this pain has been felt by thousands and thousands (probably millions, actually) of other people all over the world. That is part of the cost of war, any war, no matter how justified. If everyone who feels this pain keeps that in mind the next time we have to decide whether or not war is a good idea, perhaps it will help us to make a more informed decision. Because it is pretty clear that the average American would not have supported the Iraq War had they known the costs going in. I am far too cynical to believe that any future debate over war will be any less vitriolic or emotional, but perhaps a few more people will realize just what those costs can be the next time.

National Review Online - Michael Ledeen

NRO The Tank - Steve Schippert