Bush: 4,000 US Lives 'Were Not Lost in Vain'

President Bush sympathizes with the families of 4,000 Americans slain in Iraq, he said today. They "were not lost in vain. One day, people will look back at this moment in history and say, 'Thank God there were courageous people willing to serve,'" CNN reports. In an ABC interview, Dick Cheney said Bush's "burden" in the war is even greater than that of grieving American families.

"The president carries the biggest burden, obviously," Cheney said. "He's the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans." Earlier today, Gen. David Petraeus met with Bush to endorse a 1- to 2-month "pause" in the US troop drawdown from Iraq. Cheney said supports the pause but would not commit to future reductions.  "It may be that we can make judgements about reductions down the road," he said. (More Iraq stories.)