US casualties cut by half as Baghdad tears itself apart

[ECH1969]

The sectarian violence that has brought Iraq to the verge of civil war has had one unexpected benefit: a marked fall in the number of United States military casualties in Baghdad. American combat deaths in the capital are down 50 per cent on this time last year and some terrorists say the US has succeeded in deflecting attention from its own troops.

"Now we are fighting each other," said one insurgent. "That is what the Americans wanted and now they are winning." With Sunnis and Shia concentrating on attacking each other, they admit that they are struggling to find the time and resources to target the Americans.

Hanza al Nasawi, a spokesman for Muqtada al Sadr's Mehdi army, said it was not possible to keep fighting on two fronts. We stopped the fight against the Americans and now we are fighting against the terrorists because they are killing the Shia," he said. "We want to defend the Shia."

Nahid al Gertani, a former officer in the Republican Guard and one of the leaders of the Sunni fighters in southern Baghdad, said his forces were defending the Sunnis against the Shia militias. "Our first target is the Shia militia," he said. "We made an agreement with the American army four months ago to stop the fight."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/17/wirq17.xml

[liberal N proud]

1. Is it a Civil War yet?

Fighting each other would be one thing that would mark that I would think.

[NOLADEM]

12. No (sarcasm)

They haven't handed out Grey and Blue uniforms yet.

[Skip Intro]

2. I wonder if an order was given to to US troops to just "pull back"

That would also explain the drop in US casualties and the increase in the evolving civil war.

Possibly.

I have come to ask, with almost any "report," about Iraq (and many other things) - "assume this is a lie, what else cold be going on?" Sometimes I don't know what to believe anymore, with the current gang in the WH.

Either way, what an ongoing tragedy bush's fraudulent war on Iraq has become. We hear so much about the value of life from those in power here, and watch it go unmentioned by the perpetrators and the corp media when it involves masses of brown people being slaughtered, oceans away, thanks to us. It is a national shame that will linger for a long, long time. Look what our current government has done. By design? How can I not wonder?

[Bucky]

3. "We made an agreement with the American army four months ago"

Fuck. Then we have no business being there. Our only justification was to stop the killing, not referee it.

[razors edge]

4. we are still

guarding the un metered pipelines and wellheads. sound like a reason to you?

I'm sure it does to dead eye Dick.

[rodeodance]

5. many killed this month alone!

[KC21304]

6. So we pull our people out of Anbar province

to put them in Baghdad and the casualties go down in Baghdad but go up in Anbar. That's not success. Overall the numbers have not gone down.

[madrchsod]

7. in bagdad? what about this---

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Iraq Coalition Casualties

check this months average so far against 10-2005 and the following months. maybe bagdad but we are getting chewed up elsewhere

[Erika]

9. Exactly. I just saw your post

I also find it interesting that the U.S. wishes to make Baghdad safer through trenches and berms. How archaic can you get?

[daleo]

10. 2.00 deaths per day last year, 1.7 per day this year

Between January and end of August of each year. It is down a bit, but not really that much (15%). If Baghdad is supposed to be "twice as safe", then the rest of the country must be considerably worse than last year.

And September of last year saw about 1.7 deaths per day, versus 2.53 this year. So that trend isn't encouraging.

[Erika]

8. U.S. casualties in Iraq are not decreasing

at www.icasualties.org Baghdad is where we most control.

[NOLADEM]

11. Hey, good news (sarcasm)

Because our Chimperor has abandoned the effort to win the war for political considerations of the high political costs of body counts, he has asked the military in Iraq to hide in the Green Zone and other bases.

In other good news, the Iraqis are so involved in the Civil War we caused, they can't find the time to kill us anymore, but don't care, because we ain't doin' shit to stop em anyway.

Americans have already retreated...we are just in the first stages, gathering at the Saigon Embassy, whistling past the graveyard they have created, while hilariously declaring success after success, and only acknowledging difficulties and risks of failure.

By the way, is there any reliable source of information on how many private contractors have died there? I would assume that it might be higher than the US soldier count, since they are driving around without protection as "bullet sponges" as one Helliburton truck driver so succinctly put it.

[saigon68]

13. It's the beginning of the End

[stepnw1f]

14. Not for Us Here at Home

Especially the vets and their families. The war will live on.... and the GOP will smile for the camera, when in fact, they should get a good kick in the teeth.

[saigon68]

15. Yes the Guys in the chairs will remember forever

The Halliburton Stockholders never remember unless their dividend checks are smaller.