Iraqi civilian deaths climb again

[Teaser]

Source: LA Times

BAGHDAD -- Bombings, sectarian slayings and other violence related to the war killed at least 1,773 Iraqi civilians in August, the second month in a row that civilian deaths have risen, according to government figures obtained Friday.

In July, the civilian death toll was 1,753, and in June it was 1,227. The numbers are based on morgue, hospital and police records and come from officials in the ministries of Health, Defense and the Interior. The statistics appear to indicate that President Bush's increase in troops this year has done little to rein in civilian bloodshed, despite U.S. military statements to the contrary.


Military officials have said the security plan is showing progress because the number of attacks on civilians has decreased and sectarian killings have dropped. The security plan, which began in February, has put an additional 28,500 U.S. troops in Baghdad and other trouble spots.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-violence1sep01,0,3069115.story?coll=la-home-center

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Odds on this getting wider play?

[krkaufman]

1. And they're likely not counting the deaths from cholera ...

... and other indirect casualties of Bush's criminally negligent occupation.

[ClintonTyree]

2. But, but.....

this (along with the GAO report) flies in the face of the Generals' in Iraq and our Commander in Chief's opinions of how the "surge" is working. :wow: According to them the "surge" is the best thing since sliced bread! It's working remarkably well and is a brilliant, bold and decisive move. It just needs more time (and MUCH more money) to completely settle the country into the idyllic capitalist paradise the PNAC fathers envisioned!

Now, who would be most likely to bend the truth here? Would it be the Iraqis who deal with the death, violence and destruction of their country each and every day? Or would it be the politicians and military profiteers sitting in Washington, covering their asses, counting their lucre and worrying about their legacies?

Draw your own conclusions.

[Solly Mack]

3. and some Americans actually think America can just move on

from all this without holding our government accountable


that time will make it all better

[Hissyspit]

4. Iraqi civilian deaths have surged?

The surge is working!

:grr:

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jefferson_dem]

6. Iraqi civilian deaths up

Source: Reuters

Iraqi civilian deaths up
By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Civilian deaths from violence in Iraq rose in August, with 1,773 people killed, government data showed on Saturday, just days before the U.S. Congress gets a slew of reports on President George W. Bush's war strategy.

The civilian death toll was up 7 percent from 1,653 people killed in July, according to figures from various ministries.

Nearly a quarter of the August total comprised 411 people killed in massive truck bombings against the minority Yazidi community in northern Iraq on August 14.

Without the Yazidi attack, the death toll would still be higher than the June number of 1,227, which had been the lowest monthly total since a U.S.-backed crackdown began in February.

<SNIP>


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070901/pl_nm/iraq_bush_dc_3;_ylt=ArInCfkUdZJ8bXGTxfSzy.QE1vAI

[antiimperialist]

7. There you go. A surge

in deaths.

[roseBudd]

8. click through & rate it a 5, it only has 17 votes just now

[rodeodance]

9. gotcha. and will forward to my congresscritters!

[rodeodance]

10. AP: More than 1,800 Iraqis killed in August

I posted in GD but belongs here. Much more descriptive headline


More than 1,800 Iraqis killed in August

By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 4 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Civilian deaths rose slightly in August as a huge suicide attack in the north two weeks ago offset security gains elsewhere, making it the second deadliest month for Iraqis since the U.S. troop buildup began, according to figures compiled Saturday by The Associated Press.


U.S. deaths remained well below figures from last winter when the U.S began dispatching 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.

At least 1,809 civilians were killed in the month, compared to 1,760 in July, based on figures compiled by the AP from official Iraqi reports. That brings to 27,564 the number of Iraqi civilians killed since AP began collecting data on April 28, 2005.

The August total included 520 people killed in quadruple suicide bombings on Yazidi communities near the Syrian border. The horrific attacks made Aug. 14 the single deadliest day since the war began in March 2003........

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070901/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq ;_ylt=AjLxyhrQxH9WZhCaW1jJW7Ss0NUE

[rodeodance]

11. Bush's declaring "sectarian violence" down by ignoring dead bodies found each morning, ignoring all

Forum Name General Discussion: Politics
Topic subject Bush's declaring "sectarian violence" down by ignoring dead bodies found each morning, ignoring all
Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3491336#3491336
3491336, Bush's declaring "sectarian violence" down by ignoring dead bodies found each morning, ignoring all
Posted by papau on Sat Sep-01-07 06:49 AM

Shia attacks on Shia, ignoring attacks against the US, ignoring Sunni religious but not of the Islamist Wahhabiyya movement attacks on those that are Wahhabiyya, ignoring Kurd on Kurd.

Indeed if you ignore enough you get the following:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec06/iraqhandover_09-07.html "And I -- I will tell you that I feel comfortable that our numbers indicate a decrease in sectarian violence in the month of August. ..."

I wonder how our Democratic lawmakers and Presidential candidates will react when they are told of the "Surge success" that is proven by a "decrease in Sectarian violence".

Perhaps they can ignore the report below:

"Civilian deaths rose slightly in August as a huge suicide attack in the north two weeks ago offset security gains elsewhere, making it the second deadliest month for Iraqis since the U.S. troop buildup began, according to figures compiled Saturday by The Associated Press.

U.S. deaths remained well below figures from last winter when the U.S began dispatching 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.

At least 1,809 civilians were killed in the month, compared to 1,760 in July, based on figures compiled by the AP from official Iraqi reports. That brings to 27,564 the number of Iraqi civilians killed since AP began collecting data on April 28, 2005.

The August total included 520 people killed in quadruple suicide bombings on Yazidi communities near the Syrian border. The horrific attacks made Aug. 14 the single deadliest day since the war began in March 2003."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/iraq

[ohio2007]

12. Various factors can skew the numbers

From the article;
...
Various factors can skew the numbers. Baghdad, usually the most violent part of the country, experienced a four-day curfew in June after the bombing of a key Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of the capital. Other cities also were under curfews, which helped keep violence at bay.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-vio...


Curfew over is like the signal to let the inmates run loose in the asylum. They really laid into that minority relegious group in one horrific day killing hundreds of them.

Iraqi's are going to get the US crutch kicked out from under them and they are in need of talking peace with each other.

[INDIA]

13. If we leave the civilian deaths will go down. n/t

[rodeodance]

14. Civilian Death Toll Falls in Baghdad but Rises Across Iraq

Source: nytimes




September 2, 2007
Civilian Death Toll Falls in Baghdad but Rises Across Iraq
By JAMES GLANZ

BAGHDAD, Sept. 1 — Newly released statistics for Iraqi civilian deaths in August reflect the strikingly mixed security picture that has emerged from a gradual six-month increase in American troop strength here: the number of deaths across the country rose by about 20 percent since July, but in the capital itself, the number dropped sharply.

The figures, provided by Iraqi Interior Ministry officials on Saturday, mirrored the geographic pattern of the troop increase, which is focused on Baghdad. The national rise in mortality is partly a result of the enormous death toll, more than 500, in a truck bomb attack that struck a Yazidi community in August north of the capital, outside the areas directly affected by the additional troops.

As Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador to Iraq, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top commander of military forces here, prepare to brief Congress on the progress of the troop increase, Iraqi politicians, clearly recognizing what is at stake, view the new figures through the lens of how their parties hope that Congress will assess the situation in Iraq.

.......

Other Iraqis see the rising violence in the countryside in August as proof that the overall American plan in Iraq is failing. Saleh al-Mutlak, who leads the National Dialogue Front, a hard-line Sunni group, said the American and Iraqi security plan had failed to achieve its goals, opening the door to more attacks.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?pagewanted=print

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This major story is the Mideast section, not on front page!

But, the headline is good--as there it distinguishes Baghdad from the rest of IRaq as a whole.