Iraqi children walk to school, in Sadr city, Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007. More than five millions students nationwide returned to school on Wednesday morning after three months of summer vacations, according to Iraqi ministry of education. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Despite previous warnings from Al Qaedathat it would increase attacks, violence in Iraq during Ramadan has fallen by almost 40 percent from last year, the U.S. military said on Sunday (Reuters).
US military deaths were at their lowest point in 14 months in September.
AFP reported:
US military losses in Iraq for September stood at 71 on Sunday, but the toll remained the lowest monthly figure since July last year, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.The LA Times can't help themselves and open with this biased headline- "Petraeus admits to rise in Iraq violence."
The US military on Sunday announced the death of another soldier, saying he died when his unit was hit by a bomb and came under small arms fire in eastern Baghdad on Saturday. A second soldier was injured.
The figure 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, while the monthly toll in July 2006 was 53.
The latest death pushed the overall toll of American losses since the March 2003 invasion to 3,802.
A surge in US troop numbers saw an extra 28,500 personnel deployed from mid-February, mainly in Baghdad and the neighbouring province of Anbar, although commanders said most were not in combat positions until May.
US commanders say the strategy is starting to work and that levels of violence are dropping, allowing for a possible drawdown of the 160,000 or so troops now deployed.
It is so sad that our media has been diminished to a big anti-Bush propaganda outfit.
MORE: John Wixted notes that it's not just US military deaths that are down.
And more amazing news HERE.
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ReplyDeleteexcerpt:
["Certainly Al Qaeda has had its Ramadan surge," Petraeus said in his first comments to reporters since he returned from Washington to give lawmakers a status report on the war in Iraq. But he said the level of attacks was "substantially lower" than during the same period last year.]
yep, they're still desperately seeking to emanate a climate of doom & gloom par their course.. can't imagine what the headlines will read when they are finally forced to concede that Iraq is on a solid path to victory..
thanks for the pic of the Iraqi kids.. they look so happy.. :) it would truly break my heart if AQ were to succeed in it's attempts to blow up school houses & slaughter innocent children (not only in Iraq).. :(
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Bill Engram continues to do the best job of tracking and analyzing what Al Queda has been able to do.
ReplyDeletehttp://engram-backtalk.blogspot.com/2007/09/casualties-in-iraq-for-month-of.html
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ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 1:14 PM
excerpt:
[Well, as someone once said, you go to war with the media you have, not the media you wish you had...]
priceless..
thanks for the link..
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Yeah. It's great Muqtada al-Sadr ordered the Mahdi Army to stand down. They haven't operated for the whole month of September.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-09-02-iraq-militias_N.htm
The net result has been a decrease in Iraqi and U.S. deaths.
It's great. Hopefully the Mahdi Army will continue to stand down.
Meanwhile, back in Reality:
ReplyDeleteFrom NPR's All Things Considered, September 27, 2007 Thursday:
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block.
U.S. and Iraqi special forces have arrested at least 59 officers and enlisted men from the Iraqi army. They're accused of killings, bombings and kidnappings. The men were working out of Iraq's military academy in eastern Baghdad.
As NPR's Anne Garrels reports, it's just the latest case linking elements of the Iraqi security forces to sectarian militias and criminal gangs. She sent this report from the Iraqi capital.
ANNE GARRELS: Imagine a bunch of thugs terrorizing West Point. That's more or less what this amounts to.
GARRELS: U.S. soldiers on patrol don't trust anyone, least of all, the police with whom many are paired.
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ReplyDeleteSteve J. @
that's news to you??
don't know where you've been, but there's been a lot more than that that have been and are being vetted and dealt with accordingly.. and you really need to take statements such as U.S. soldiers on patrol don't trust anyone, least of all, the police with whom many are paired with a grain of salt.. there are dozens of stories about how trusted & heroic the Iraqi police are in many areas from written by soldiers who are on the ground living side by side with them..
if reality is what you're truly seeking, then i highly recommend you start reading soldier/military blogs & MNF reports..
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ReplyDeleteSteve J. @ @ 6:44 PM
here's several good places to start..
Operation Iraqi Freedom
The Mudville Gazette
Michael Yon
The Long War Journal
there's also..
JD Johannes (Outside The Wire)
Matt Sanchez
Michael J Totten
Black Five
The Belmont Club
and many others as well..
check out the side-bar menu..
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ReplyDeleteokay, here's just one story of many that you won't find being told on NPR or anywhere else in the MSM.. did you know that one of the main gripes of the troops is the fact that THE TRUTH ABOUT IRAQ DOESN'T GET TOLD.. many soldiers who come home on leave say they can't believe the MSM is talking about the same Iraq, go figure..
Team sees success in faces of Habbaniyah
excerpt:
[They operate out of a dusty, war-faced outpost named the OK Corral. They usually work long hours, patrolling streets with Iraqi Soldiers or standing post overlooking the Euphrates River. They cook each meal themselves, because there is no chow hall to feed the 14 Marines, two corpsmen and company of Iraqi soldiers. They have learned to adapt, dealt with sweltering heat and braved the roadways of a foreign land.
Many of the men of MTT 13 have been to Iraq before, making them ideal candidates for an advisory team. The Soldiers that make up 1st Battalion are veteran war fighters as well; hardened by battles past, experienced in combat operations. Perhaps that is why the people in this area trust the Iraqi Soldiers.
Habbaniyah is a corridor in a crucial area, known as Jazerria, located between the once terrorist safe-haven cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. Nowadays, people go about their lives freely, searching for jobs, attending schools, plowing fields and shopping in crowded markets without fear of being shot in the crossfire of combat.
“The IAs (Iraqi Army soldiers) have won the trust of the people,” said U.S. Marines Cpl. Jason Syvrud, an infantryman attached to MTT 13. “People see that they’re here, the area is safe, they are happy that their families aren’t at risk anymore. The IA is here to help the whole country get back on its feet. The people love seeing (that) change. The country as a whole is trying to rebuild.”
Syvrud is only 22, but is currently serving his third tour in Iraq. He has been in cities where it was difficult to trust the citizens. But now he has seen a significant change in the war and in the people. He feels pride in his advisory role, knowing each day is bringing comfort to strangers he once felt uncomfortable around.
“I’ve seen, in the three times I’ve been here, (that) this country has done a complete 180. It’s gone from everyone not knowing what to do and being scared to do anything, to them starting to come out and finding out what a democratic society would be like,” he said. “Now, they are really trying to get involved. They’re building their schools up. They’re building up the mosques, their homes. They’re trying to find jobs. It looks more and more like a typical American rural area. The majority of the people seem happy. They’re doing what they have to do to survive and building a life out of this.”
Safety is what brings out the smiles and trust of the townspeople, Syvrud said. The locals are involved with the Iraqi Army now. They help locate possible terrorists. They have begun to rebuild their community by fixing up schools, roads and mosques. The province is still early in reconstruction efforts, but the transition seems to be working as planned.]
God Bless Soldiers everywhere for putting THEIR
lives on the line to protect us ALL from terrorism!
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ReplyDeletecouple more of many more..
Putting Iraqis out front: U.S. Soldiers aid Iraqi Police with missions
excerpt:
[“It is important to work with the IP,” said Radcliff of Prattville, Ala. “The Iraqi people will see Coalition forces, but they also see the IP out there doing good things to help catch bad people in their community. With the IP, they (Iraqis) see us working with them -- it is kind of like bonding with them. It lets the Iraqis know that we are there to help.”
That help came in the form of having a suspected terrorist financier and illegal document forger being removed from their neighborhood. For this raid, the intelligence definitely pointed in the right direction.
“We got a lot of information, so I think they will be going away for a while,” said Radcliff. “It was a big success.”]
Iraqi Army, Police take lead in village clearing operation
excerpts:
[“The goal was to clear the entire area without one American setting foot inside,” said Capt. Jason Rostenstrauch of 2nd Squadron. “We were helping the ISF clear a very bad part of town and return it to the people.”
Around 150 Iraqi Soldiers and 200 Iraqi Policemen combed the village, searching for insurgents and weapons caches. While no insurgents were found, more than 50 buried improvised explosive devices (IED's) were detonated by Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal teams and a cache of 37 mortars was found and destroyed.
After the neighborhood was deemed safe, Iraqi Soldiers and Policemen fenced off areas of the main roads, which will become security checkpoints.]
[The day after the food drop, American Soldiers were shocked to see children running the streets of Al-Askari, playing soccer.
“That really threw me for a loop,” Karns said. “For the longest time, that area was a no- man’s land. You didn’t see a soul down there.”]
sounds pretty dang real to me!!
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