US deaths in Iraq plunge to wartime low in October
In addition to what I’m about to share with you, for the first time since fighting began, not ONE US death took place in Baghdad!! This is monumental achievement and a true sign that we are winning the “unwinnable” war in Iraq that we had supposedly “lost” with a surge that “wouldn’t work”. The defeatists who took over Congress with a promise to pull us out prematurely (which they lied about, obviously) before we could leave victorious should be eating their words publicly. Instead, we hear silence. These successes are a part of a strategy put together and implemented by two people who bear responsibility for the successes: General Petraeus and President Bush! Neither will get what is due to them as a result. Here’s the story from AP:
BAGHDAD – U.S. deaths in Iraq fell in October to their lowest monthly level of the war, matching the record low of 13 fatalities suffered in July. Iraqi deaths fell to their lowest monthly levels of the year. Eight of the 13 Americans died in combat, most of them in northern Iraq where al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgent groups remain active. The U.S. military suffered 25 deaths in September and 23 in August.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, 15 U.S. military deaths were reported for October. The monthly toll in that combat theater had been in the 20s since June, when 28 Americans were killed — the worst one-month total since that war began in late 2001.
The sharp drop in American fatalities in Iraq reflects the overall security improvements across the country following the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida and the rout suffered by Shiite extremists in fighting last spring in Basra and Baghdad.
But the decline also points to a shift in tactics by extremist groups, which U.S. commanders say are now focusing their attacks on Iraqi soldiers and police that are doing much of the fighting.
Iraqi government figures showed at least 364 Iraqis killed in October — including police, soldiers, civilians and militants.
Despite the sharp decline, the Iraqi death toll serves as a reminder that this remains a dangerous, unstable country despite the security gains, which U.S. military commanders repeatedly warn are fragile and reversible.
U.S. commanders are also worried that security could worsen if the Iraqi parliament refuses to approve a new security agreement by the end of December, when the U.N. Security Council mandate under which the coalition operates in Iraq expires.
Without a new agreement or a new U.N. mandate, U.S. military operations would have to stop. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government is pressing for changes in the draft agreement before submitting it to parliament.
Much of that concern focuses on Mosul, Iraq’s third largest city about 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a new operation Oct. 15 to clear al-Qaida and other insurgent groups from the city.
Violence occurs almost daily in Mosul, although the U.S. military says attacks there are down by almost half since May.
Donna
November 1st, 2008 at 12:22 pmThanks CJ for bringing this to our attention. It is indeed very good news! We don’t hear much about Iraq anymore and when our troops needed the support of the left when the fighting was so fierce in Iraq, they weren’t there for them and they were criticizing President Bush and General Petraeus everyday. They were made out to be the villians.
Where are the critics of the war now? They are using the missteps of President Bush (or so they say) to get Barack Obama elected. I believe that history will vindicate what President Bush did and our military to get rid of terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere. God Bless our troops wherever they are serving!!