Drop in U.S. casualties accompanies increase in attacks on Iraqis [View All]

[Rose Siding]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq has plummeted recently and attacks on American troops have dropped significantly, prompting U.S. military officials to wonder whether to hail the drop-off as a sign of success or brace for renewed attacks later.

At the same time, many Iraqis are alarmed by a rise in attacks on Iraqi civilians and security personnel. They fear that the war is turning inward, toward more intense sectarian violence that could lead to civil war.
If the trend continues, March - with 22 U.S. soldiers killed by hostile fire so far - will be the least deadly month since February 2004, when the figure was 14, according to icasualties.org, a Web site that tracks coalition military deaths in Iraq. By way of contrast, 54 American soldiers were killed by hostile fire in January and 125 last November.
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Insurgents "may have come to the realization that hitting the (U.S.) military targets isn't particularly effective. We're still here," said a top American military spokesman in Baghdad, Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, who pointed to the elections, the growing competence of Iraqi security forces and several decisive U.S. military offenses during the past year as factors.
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"This is the start of dividing the country; this is the start of a bigger civil war. The election in Iraq emphasized the sectarian divide of the Iraqi people," said Ghassan al Atiyyah, a lecturer at Baghdad University and a secular Shiite politician. "It is a time of militias."

One illegal arms dealer said he was selling more weapons to Shiites looking to protect themselves from Sunnis.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11203191.htm