Military Deaths In Iraq Lowest In 14 Months
Politically bad news for the Democrats.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - - US military losses in Iraq for September stood at 70 on Sunday, the lowest monthly figure since July last year, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.
The figure also marks the fourth consecutive drop in the monthly death toll following a high of 121 in May. June saw 93 deaths, July 82 and August 79. The monthly toll in July 2006 was 53.
Two US soldiers were killed on Saturday in separate incidents, pushing the overall toll of American losses since the March 2003 invasion to 3,801.
What’s more probably the most significant part of this story is that troop deaths have gone down despite the deployment of 30,000 additional troops to the war zone. Meaning that troop deaths have dropped, dramatically, not only as a percentage of the overall force deployment but also in raw numbers.
That’s an astounding accomplishment which should be credited to the planning and execution of General Petraeus and his staff. Not that anyone on the left will be willing to acknowledge this or give the credit for it to “General Betrayus.”
Update: Of course, troop deaths aren’t the only measure of success in Iraq. As Jon Henke notes:
...if [Iraq war] supporters are pointing to death/casualty statistics instead of concrete political progress that replaces the need for US troops, then the surge is not working.
Still, the death/casualty figures are heartening. But ultimately the government in Iraq needs to find a way to lead before we can be successful in our mission.
