Top U.S. General: 15,000 Insurgents Killed or Caught

[Barrett808]

Top U.S. General: 15,000 Insurgents Killed or Caught
By Gideon Long

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed or captured 15,000 people over the past year in their fight against an insurgency ravaging Iraq, the commander of U.S. forces in the country said Wednesday.

In the past month alone, they had seized around 60 leaders of the various Islamist and Baathist groups trying to drive the Americans from the war-torn country, General George Casey said.

Speaking on the deadliest day for U.S. troops since the invasion in 2003, Casey said the insurgency was limited to just four of Iraq's 18 provinces.

But he conceded that the number of car and suicide bombs had increased and that Iraqi security forces were not capable of dealing with the violence themselves.

...

"The level of violence in 14 of the 18 provinces in Iraq is four incidents or arrests a day," said Casey, who commands 150,000 U.S. troops. "It is primarily confined to four provinces. It has not spread to 80 percent of the population."

He said the level of violence had subsided since its peak in November last year -- the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein began.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20050126/ts_nm/iraq_general_dc

[bushisanidiot]

1. Holy crap. Bush must have concentration camps set up all over Iraq

to keep the rebels in line.

my gawd.. i just keep thinking about "what if that happened here?". How many of us would have relatives dead or in concentration camps because they fought back and didn't take the invasion sitting down.

my gawd..

[Snivi Yllom]

27. try mass graves

maybe 1000 out of those in prisons...the rest are dead, that they admit too.

[mordarlar]

38. They will creatively and brutally torture them and due to lack of evidence

let them go. 15,000 more people given new reason to HATE us.

[gnofg]

2. Vietnam

This is the same exact formula(10:1) ratio that was used in Vietnam. Makes us pound our chest

[spooked911]

32. Yep. And remember the enemy body counts that we got all the time that

never meant anything?

[NYC]

42. Ho Chi Minh said:

We will kill one of yours. You will kill 10 of ours. You will grow tired of it.

[RobertSeattle]

3. Anyone using the "4 of 18" province line is SPINNING

Since those 4 or 18 provinces have MOST of Iraq's population.

What a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive...

[central scrutinizer]

26. just like the red state/blue state maps

makes it look like bushco has a big mandate - but sagebrush and rocks don't vote, people do.

[mulethree]

34. do you have a count?

Saw some 1991 census data and those 4 were 42% of the population. But they are 'Sunni Dominated' areas, which gives me the impression that they are 50%+ Sunni. 50% of 42% = 21% = the entire Sunni population?

So you have 60% shia, 20% Kurd and 20% Sunni - but the Sunni will be way under-represented since they are all in the 4 'insufficiently security to hold election' provinces?

[Barrett808]

4. This figure is perilously close to IBC's total number of civilians killed

Iraq Body Count
http://iraqbodycount.net/

[dw]

31. If they're dead, then they must have been insurgents. q.e.d.

[LynnTheDem]

5. And when will they concede that those "just 4 provinces" = more than

half the entire population of Iraq??? Including the largest city, and CAPITAL city, BAGHDAD??? Including 3 of the 5 largest cities???

Imagine an election in America where MORE THAN HALF were UNABLE to vote; where THREE out of FIVE largest US cities were UNABLE to vote, because of a raging WAR??? And under FOREIGN OCCUPATION??? Under MARTIAL LAW??? For UNKNOWN CANDIDATES???

PUUULLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE!!!

"It has not spread to 80% of the population"???

LIAR LIAR LIAR!!!

BAGHDAD ALONE IS TWENTY PERCENT!!!

[robertpaulsen]

18. "Imagine an election in America..."

One thing to add to illustrate how absurd this "election" is. THEY DON'T GET TO VOTE FOR THE PRESIDENT OR VICE-PRESIDENT!!! The unknown candidates that they vote for the general assembly get to pick out whoever they want for President and 2 Vice Presidents.

Ain't spreading "democracy" FUN?!

[LynnTheDem]

37. It's even WORSE than that!

The group the Iraqis pick will then pick ANOTHER group, and that will be the National Assembly...who will then pick ANOTHER group (of 3) who will then pick the prez & exec staff!

:wow: :wow: :wow:

The possibilities for corruption there are just HUGE and endless! And I don't think the Iraqis are gonna stand for it, actually.

[renegade000]

40. well thats how a parlimentary system works

quite a bit different than the American system where we have direct election of practically everything.

[LynnTheDem]

41. Where you don't know the party platforms or who the members are???

Not exactly the way a Parlimentary system works. Sometimes I think it would work as well, tho, as they all say one thing and then do the opposite anyways!

[bvar22]

6. Lets do some math:

# of "insurgents" claimed killed (or captured) by US:..... 15,000

# of American lives lost (killed or wounded) over:.......... 15,000

# (conservative) of innocent Iraqi civilians killed by US:.. 100,000

# (estimated) of insurgents (or sympathizers) in Iraq:...... 200,000

# of WMD found, (nuclear, "nucular", biological, chem):...... 0.0

# of REAL threats to America neutralized in Iraq:............... 0.0

Cost(so far) Over and Above the Military Budget: $ 200,000,000,000.00


YEAH! the bush*/republicans sure got a great deal for America!

[Ripley]

9. Git youruns facks strait!

U caint put a preyce tag on Freedom! The Eagul Has Sored! The Fredom is on the March! God bless our Leader!

[leftchick]

11. fast approaching 300 Billion....

and as you know, Freedom is priceless!

[0007]

30. Got lotta bang for the buck, eh?

[mulethree]

33. and the 450,000 or so

50,000 per year dead under the prior sanctions for 9 years
most of them kids under age 5.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

7. I thought it's not our job to count Iraqi dead-so why the count here?

isn't that what Rumsfella said no too long ago?
not our job to count the dead Iraqis--

[TexasLawyer]

35. “We don’t do body counts”

“We don’t do body counts”
General Tommy Franks, US Central Command

http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

[htuttle]

8. Hey Rocky, watch me pull a number out of my ass!

[leftchick]

10. Indeed...

[jswordy]

12. ...and only 22,204,289 left to go!!! LOL.

[louis-t]

13. B-b-b-b-but I thought there were only 3,000 insurgents!

How can people ignore blatant lies day and night and not go crazy?

[Cocoa]

14. we're winning!

wow, it's no contest, we're kicking Arab ass!

[American Tragedy]

15. Reminds me of Heracles when he fought the Hydra

He slashed off three heads, and thought he had done well until nine more emerged from the beast's wounds.

Unless all of the insurgents were without friends or family or allies of any sort, the government should not celebrate prematurely.

[Gyre]

16. With all due respect, Where's Osama, you piece of shit?

Sounds like a reasonable question to me. :)

Gyre

[yellowcanine]

17. Casey said the insurgency was limited to just four of Iraq's 18 provinces.

Top British General: 5,000 Insurgents Killed or Caught
London, 1779

British forces have killed or captured 5,000 people over the past year in their fight against an insurgency ravaging the American colonies, the commander of British forces in the country said Wednesday.

In the past month alone, they had seized around 60 leaders of the various rebel groups trying to drive the British from the war-torn country, General Howe said.

Speaking on the deadliest day for British troops since the invasion in 1775, Howe said the insurgency was limited to just four of America's 13 colonies.

But he conceded that the number of attacks had increased and that British forces were not capable of dealing with the violence themselves.

...

"The level of violence in 9 of the 13 colonies in America is four incidents or arrests a day," said Howe, who commands 30,000 British, Loyalist, and German mercenary troops. "It is primarily confined to four colonies. It has not spread to 80 percent of the population."

He said the level of violence had subsided since its peak in November last year -- the deadliest month for British troops since the campaign to crush the rebellion began.

[stevedeshazer]

22. Very nice comparison n/t

[David__77]

19. and another 20,000 spring forth...

...brothers and sons have stepped forward, along with neighbors and in-laws, schoolmates and co-workers. It's ridiculous to cite arrest numbers in fighting an insurgency that is rooted in the population. It may or may not be confined to a certain quarter of the country, but that's not a strategic disadvantage to the insurgents at all. They always operate regionally in different countries--it was also true in Vietnam and Cambodia. If they link up with the Shiites, which is inevitable if the US conducts aggression against Iran, then there will be an "encirclement of the city from the countryside."

[adigal]

20. But it was just a "Handful of dead-enders", no???

So where did all of these insurgents come from, Rummy?????

[peacebird]

24. we're creating new enemies faster than we can kill them....

arghhhh.

didn't the bushitas tell us that the ever increasing anti-occupation attacks and casualty counts show that the enemy was getting desperate and that we were "winning"?

I don't think we can afford this Pyhrric victory....

[The_Casual_Observer]

21. When 30 guys die in a "crash" they feel the need to smooth it over

Thus, this asshole is sent out to explain that it isn't as bad as it seems. Personally, I don't need that asshole to explain anything to me.

[TexasLawyer]

36. the need to smooth it over

exactly

[74dodgedart]

23. "alleged" insurgents.

Assuming everyone they've captured is and insurgent..

[jokerman93]

25. 15,000 Iraqi citizen insurgents, huh?

Is it G-E-N-O-C-I-D-E yet, boys and girls?

[ProfessorGAC]

28. Well, That's 15,000 Down. Only A Couple of Million To Go

What an idiot this guy is. Doesn't he remember that when the insurgency first started, they guessed there were only a few thousand? Now, we've captured or killed 4 or 5 times as many as they believed existed. So, when do we get the admission that they have no idea just how many people they're up against? (I know, the answer is never.)
The Professor

[underpants]

29. That's a mighty big "hand full" isn't it?

and that was just last year.

[daleo]

39. What a nice day to speak of kill ratios.

15,000 to 15,000, that's a fine 10 to 1 kill ratio. It is like 1968.

Note: Yes, obviously sarcasm. And the 15,000 number is not correct, as they said killed or captured. And this doesn't include the 10s of thousands of civilians killed.