And so are another group of folks here today -- our extraordinary United States Marines.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks to U.S. and Australian Service Members | The White House

Initial reports are that 15 personnel were killed in the attack: 14 United States Marines and one interpreter.

NPR: 14 from Ohio-Based Marine Battalion Killed in Iraq

President GEORGE W. BUSH: I'm inclined to believe that we need to increase, in the permanent size, of both the United States Army and the United States Marines.

NPR: Recruiting New U.S. Troops a Multi-Year Process

Standing on the roof of Two World Financial Center, amid mounds of debris that still litter the streets and rooftops around the World Trade Center, New York police officers -- among them former Marines -- raised the flags of the United States, Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard.

CNN: Marines honor fallen members of armed forces

Last week, the two governments addressed a thorny issue of recent years with a plan for the United States to relocate about half of its 19, 000 Marines based on Okinawa to other places in the Pacific region.

CNN: Obama affirms strong economic, security ties with Japan

But, according to a U.S. official familiar with troop assignments, the most the United States could send to Afghanistan is two combat brigades by spring 2009, because the Army and Marines are stretched.

CNN: Analysis: U.S. reviewing Afghanistan policy

America's souring on peacekeeping happened overnight when American marines were killed during the ill-fated mission to Somalia in 1993: the United States does not accept, at least on its own behalf, that casualties are a peacekeeping hazard.

ECONOMIST: The United Nations