U.S. death toll in Iraq for July hit 8-month low

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC/AP

The U.S. military said Tuesday that a Marine was killed in fighting west of the capital, bringing the American death toll for July to at least 73 — still the lowest in eight months.

An Apache helicopter also went down Tuesday after coming under fire in a predominantly Shiite area in eastern Baghdad, but both crew members were safely evacuated, the military said.

President Bush’s nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meanwhile, acknowledged that slow progress in Iraq is hurting America’s credibility and emboldening Iran’s regional ambitions.

While steady progress has been made on the military front, Iraq’s political factions have made only limited headway in achieving reconciliation, said Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, who has been nominated to replace U.S. Gen. Peter Pace as the nation’s top military officer.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20049657/

---

Don't know why - maybe it's just too damn hot even for insurgents, but death toll is always lower in July.

July 06 - 43
July 05 - 54
July 04 - 54
July 03 - 48

So 73 is still damn high!

[trogdor]

1. Good catch.

;-)

[HappyWeasel]

2. Well, the insurgents thirst for human flesh has actually increased...

Its probably that the security crackdown has reached its largest extent and that the ball has been thrown to someone that is waaaaayyyy down field.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Maybe the headline should read

"Iraq death toll hits all time high for July"

ya think?

[coalition_unwilling]

4. Read a different story here about increased U.S. reliance upon

air power (which is seen by many as a sign of defeat on the ground). This echoes experience in Vietnam and Southeast Asia after Tet '68, where U.S. increasingly used air power as a substitute for "boots on the ground." U.S. casualties in Vietnam steadily declined, although Southeast Asian casualties steadily mounted under the brunt of U.S. air power.

[leftist.]

7. If it weren't for you "Cut and Run Liberals" we would have won in 'Nam

:sarcasm:

But that is what Newt said over the weekend. Cut and Runners, you guys are always fucking up a perfectly good war.

[libodem]

13. I'm jumping in here with you

and believe what you are saying is exactly true. We are bombing the shit out of them again because the ground fighting is a bloody waste. It's all a stupid, bloody waste.

[leftist.]

5. Seconded, good catch. And also ...

Republikans *DOG PILED* on this as proof that:
1) We are in fact winning the war
2) Bush was in fact right
3) The "surge" is in fact working
4) Homosexuality is in fact a choice.

Okay maybe not the last one :)

Limbaugh was calling Democrats "sick and evil" today for still wanting to pull troops out now that "the number of troops getting killed each month is coming down" (paraphrased).

Think about that statement for a few moments and count the number of things wrong with it!

[jordi_fanclub]

6. A LIE is always a LIE / A LIAR is always a BUSH... I mean, a LIAR...

EDIT: source http://icasualties.org/oif/ (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
and http://www.icasualties.org/oef/ (Operation Enduring Freedom)
(Afghanistan not accounted in the chart - so far add 28 casualties in July http://www.icasualties.org/oef/Afghanistan.aspx )

[RamboLiberal]

8. That chart is total coalition casualties - icasualties reports 74

US for this month so far.

[jordi_fanclub]

12. Yes, you're right, it's coalition totals...

But since UK Gordon's thinks to retreat then it's better start to be accustomed to these numbers.

BTW, casualties have a high seasonal correlation. "8-month" it's not good to evaluate "progress".
In my view even weather or religious months are far better indicators than any other continuous period.
That's why the chart is designed to show comparisons in the up-down direction and not left-right direction.

[leftist.]

9. OOOOOOOO Nice!

Great chart! And it of course begs the question, does a tie count as a month?

This "war" gets more and more retarded the longer it goes on. Now we are down to judging success by how many LESS people are getting killed. And that's just the Amerikans there.

EDIT - Thanks RamboLiberal for clarification.

[Barrett808]

10. Juan Cole: "The previous three months were the deadliest three-month stretch in the war."

I know it is the general's job to spin things this way, but it is my job to call a spade a spade. In fact the secular trend of US combat deaths for April, May and June was significantly up:

The previous three months were the deadliest three-month stretch in the war, with 104 deaths in April, 126 in May and 101 in June.'

This is up from 81 in February and March. So the quarterly average is still higher than in winter. Three weeks tells you nothing. (It is 130 degrees in Baghdad; what guerrilla in his right mind rolls out a big offensive in July or August?) Second, what kind of improvement is that, where over-all attacks rise but fewer US combat troops are affected by them? That sounds like US troops are having less contact with the enemy, which is hitting out more frequently than ever before at Iraqi security and civilian targets. That outcome does not point to "success" for the "surge"!

(more)

http://www.juancole.com/2007/07/8-us-troops-killed-100-casualties-in.html

[SpikeTss]

11. Hm. The bloodsuckers in Washington define now 74 dead US soldiers this month as 'success'

Interesting.

And the 20+ billion US-dollars these Dr. Strangelove cartoons in Washington
and elsewhere have wasted recently in addition to the trillions of dollars
they've already 'invested' in the war of aggression against the Iraqis count
as a 'big saving' I guess?

Honestly, I think the USSR propaganda was not as hilarious as this nonsense
we now hear on a daily basis.

[alstephenson]

14. ONLY 73 dead this month??? Wow, break out the champagne!

Every one of those 73 dead souls were someone's husband/son/daughter/friend. The "numbers" are a diversion, so we don't see/feel the human tragedy of each death. Sad and pathetic.

[wellst0nev0ter]

17. Try 79

Six US troops killed on Tuesday

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/08/01/iraq.main/index.html?section=cnn_topstories&eref=yahoo

[Help me help Earth]

15. Our military is doing it's part,

now it's time for the Iraqi government to do theirs. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but won't be holding my breath.

[epnoc]

16. My cousin, #73

It's disheartening to see that my cousin is #73 for the month of July "the lowest death toll in 8 months". The report is positive for the president and the Republican party, but as my family mourns, incredibly insensitive to us. Throughout the news pages it seems that every site has reported the same information. He leaves 3 children behind and has served this country for many, many years. I ask, how many more lives do we have to spare for this battle that was never ours to begin with?

[Skittles]

18. my condolences, epnoc

it is indeed extremly insensitive

[alstephenson]

22. So sorry for your loss, epnoc...

Your cousin was much more than just a number to be used by the Bush Administration as some sort of sick benchmark. We MUST end this fucking war!!!

[Imagevision]

19. What were the number of convoys that went out compared to other months?

[Imagevision]

20. What were the number of convoys that went out compared to other months?

I for one don't believe what this pentagon is revealing.

[jordi_fanclub]

21. A LIE is always a LIE / A LIAR is always a BUSHit... errr, I mean, a LIAR... (Part 2)

(NEW) Chart update, now including the last numbers (July reports aren't over yet):