Say Anything Blog

Which is startling news not just because it flies in the face of everything the anti-war left/media are telling us about the war but also because, with 28,000 additional troops deployed to the ground, nearly all reasonable observers of the war expected casualties to go up.

WASHINGTON — American combat deaths in Iraq have dropped by half in the three months since the buildup of 28,000 additional U.S. troops reached full strength, surprising analysts and dividing them as to why.

U.S. officials had predicted that the increase would lead to higher American casualties as the troops “took the fight to the enemy.” But that hasn’t happened, even though U.S. forces have launched major offensives involving thousands of troops north and south of Baghdad.

American combat casualties have dropped to their lowest levels this year, even as violence involving Iraqis remains high.

Military officials and observers are wondering whether the lower U.S. casualties are a sign of success or an indication that insurgents and militiamen simply chose a different battlefield when the Americans mounted their offensive in Iraq’s capital.

“Nobody here is doing cartwheels yet,” said one senior military official at the Pentagon, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely.

The article refers to military officials and expert observers who are confused as to why combat casualties are down, but McQ over at QandO points out that casualties are probably down because a) we’ve got a better strategy and b) we’ve got better leadership.

...it seems the combination of careful planning, excellent execution, experience, Iraqi cooperation and exponentially increased human intelligence have all combined to keep our casualties very low despite the fact that we’re on the offense.

Indeed.

What this means for the purposes of politics here at home is that a “change in direction” (or whatever buzz-phrase the Democrats are using to cloak their defeatism these days) now, when we’ve got momentum and strategy working in our favor for perhaps the first time since we invaded Iraq, would be more foolish now than ever before.