HOT NEWS; On 2nd DEADLIEST MO, Will GATES send THOUSANDS more TROOPS, as IRAQ leader says NO NEED?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

BOSTON GLOBE
DECEMBER IS 2nd DEADLIEST MONTH FOR US FORCES IN IRAQ IN 06
Insurgents kill 5 service members

By Solomon Moore, Los Angeles Times | December 23, 2006

BAGHDAD -- Insurgent attacks have killed five more US servicemen, the military said yesterday -- making December the second-deadliest month for American forces in 2006.

Insurgents killed three Marines and one sailor in Anbar Province, and a soldier was killed in an attack in Baghdad that included small-arms fire and explosives, authorities said.

So far this month, 76 American troops have died in Iraq, the same number that were killed in April. With nine days remaining in December, the monthly total of US deaths could meet or exceed the death toll of 105 in October.

As American deaths in the war pushed closer to 3,000, Iraqis continued to fall victim to sectarian violence between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims. Police recovered 21 more bodies in the cities of Baghdad, Baqouba, and Kut. http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/12/23/dec_is_2d_deadliest_month_for_us_forces_in_iraq_in_06/

WASHINGTON POST
Iraqi Prime Minister Tells Gates He'll Let U.S. Decide on Troop 'Surge'

By Thomas E. Ricks and Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, December 22, 2006; Page A23

BAGHDAD, Dec. 21 -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told visiting Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that he would let U.S. generals decide whether there is a need for a "surge" in U.S. troops deployed in Iraq, according to Iraqi officials with knowledge of the meeting.

In a news conference, Gates said his conversation with the Iraqi prime minister and defense minister included "no numbers. . . . We were really talking in broader terms."

Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadir Muhammed Jassim later indicated general acceptance of an idea that has emerged as one of the chief options President Bush is considering as he reevaluates Iraq policy. "I did not say no to an increase in the number of U.S. troops," Qadir said in a brief interview after the meeting at Maliki's residence in the Green Zone. "If we need it, we need it."

But after seeing Gates, Maliki met with Shiite Muslim members of his alliance, in a session where divisions unfolded over whether more U.S. troops were needed, said Sami al-Askari, a Shiite member of parliament who is close to Maliki. Askari, who attended the second meeting, said there was a general feeling that "there's no need for further troops." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/21/AR2006122100629.html?nav=rss_email/components?nav=slate

ABC News

Defense Secretary Gates Plans to Offer Advice on Iraq to President Bush This Weekend


By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON Dec 23, 2006 (AP)— Defense Secretary Robert Gates rushed back to Washington on Friday to give President Bush his advice on transforming U.S. policy in Iraq after holding three days of talks in the war zone with military and political leaders.

Gates was scheduled to see Bush at Camp David first thing Saturday morning, said Dana Perino, a White House spokeswoman. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, national security adviser Stephen Hadley and deputy national security adviser J.D. Crouch, who has been coordinating Bush's review of Iraq policy, were also to attend the discussions at the Maryland mountain retreat where Bush was spending Christmas.

Gates, who arrived in Washington on Friday night, declined to say while in Baghdad whether he plans to recommend a short-term increase in U.S. troop levels. Quickly adding thousands of troops to the 140,000 already in Iraq, in hopes of stanching the escalating violence in Baghdad and elsewhere, is among the president's options.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2747341

[Jeffersons Ghost]

1. It just occurs to me, this month might easily be the DEADLIEST MONTH ever in IRAQ...

2,006 is far and away the worst year with the largest death-tolls in IRAQ to date, right?

With so many days left, December will easily represent the deadliest month EVER in Iraq.

In their War on Christmas Propaganda perhaps they can say, "Whether we call it 'HAPPY HOLIDAYS' or 'MERRY CHRISTMAS;' AMERICA CAN EXPECT LOTS OF BOXES TO ARRIVE SOON."

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. HERE'S AN ARTICLE TO BOOKMARK TO SORT THRU FUTURE SPIN

WASHINGTON POST
15 Police Recruits Killed in Iraq; U.S. Death Toll for October Hits 86

By John Ward Anderson and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, October 23, 2006; 9:12 AM

BAGHDAD, Oct. 23 -- At least 15 Iraqi police recruits were killed Sunday when two buses taking them to Baghdad were ambushed by insurgents north of the capital, a local police official said. Twenty-five recruits were injured in the attack, and 20 others were kidnapped, he said.

On Sunday and Monday, the U.S. military announced the deaths of seven soldiers and a Marine, bringing the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq this month to 86 -- the fifth-highest total in any single month since the war began. The only higher monthly tolls were 137 in November 2004, 135 in April 2004, 106 in January 2005, and 96 in October, 2005. Attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad have increased more than 40 percent since midsummer, U.S. military officials say. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/23/AR2006102300186.html