How many more, Mr. Bush?

The web site icasualties.org lists 13 deaths and 101 wounded from Wyoming thus far in the Iraq War. Total U.S. deaths are 4,096 and 29,978 wounded.

The latest grim news came from an Associated Press story that appeared in this morning's Casper Star-Tribune:

A soldier from Saratoga who died in Iraq this weekend was remembered by his mother as a dedicated serviceman who looked forward one day to retiring to the Wyoming mountains.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced Wednesday that Staff Sgt. Tyler E. Pickett died Sunday in Kirkuk Province. He was killed by enemy forces using an improvised explosive device.

Pickett was assigned to the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Pickett's mother, Saratoga resident Sheri Peterson, said her 28-year-old son was killed in a suicide bombing that also injured 18 other people. Pickett was on his second tour in Iraq and had also served in Afghanistan.

Pickett is survived by his wife, Kristy, of Antwerp, N.Y., and her two children, Peterson said. The couple celebrated their second anniversary in February.

Pickett was born in Rice Lake, Wis., and moved to Saratoga, in south-central Wyoming, at the age of 14. He graduated from Saratoga High School in 1999 and enlisted in the military about a year later, Peterson said. She said serving in the military was always a part of Pickett's plan.

Pickett's survivors include his father, Ed Pickett, of Rice Lake, and other family members in Wyoming. Peterson said funeral services are planned in Saratoga, Antwerp, N.Y., and Minnesota.