Only in the conniving minds of these admin. war junkies could 74 US deaths be seen as progress

[bigtree]

U.S. forces welcome least deadly month of Iraq push (for them)

BAGHDAD, July 31 - The build-up of extra troops in Baghdad may be bearing fruit, U.S. commanders said on Tuesday, as they welcomed news that July was the least deadly month for their forces in Iraq since last November.

Official figures showed 74 American service members were killed in Iraq in July, the lowest figure since last November, when 70 died.

Deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq had spiked in recent months as they fanned out into dangerous Baghdad neighborhoods under the new strategy.

May was the deadliest month in two-and-a-half years with 126 killed, and more than 100 died in both April and June.

"We said at the beginning of the summer, it's going to get harder before it gets easier. Now we hope to see that payoff."

report: http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3432085&page=1

[napi21]

1. It doesn't look like we're winning much to me! Look at this chart!

Military Fatalities: By Month
Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days
7-2007 74 7 1 82 2.65 31
6-2007 101 7 0 108 3.6 30
5-2007 126 3 2 131 4.23 31
4-2007 104 12 1 117 3.9 30
3-2007 81 1 0 82 2.65 31
2-2007 81 3 1 85 3.04 28
1-2007 83 3 0 86 2.77 31
12-2006 112 1 2 115 3.71 31
11-2006 70 6 2 78 2.6 30
10-200 106 2 2 110 3.55 31
9-2006 72 3 2 77 2.57 30
8-2006 65 1 0 66 2.13 31
7-2006 43 1 2 46 1.48 31
6-2006 61 0 2 63 2.1 30
5-2006 69 9 1 79 2.55 31
4-2006 76 1 5 82 2.73 30
3-2006 31 0 2 33 1.06 31
2-2006 55 3 0 58 2.07 28
1-2006 62 2 0 64 2.06 31
12-2005 68 0 0 68 2.19 31
11-2005 84 1 1 86 2.87 30
10-2005 96 2 1 99 3.19 31
9-2005 49 3 0 52 1.73 30
8-2005 85 0 0 85 2.74 31
7-2005 54 3 1 58 1.87 31
6-2005 78 1 4 83 2.77 30
5-2005 80 2 6 88 2.84 31
4-2005 52 0 0 52 1.73 30
3-2005 35 1 3 39 1.26 31
2-2005 58 0 2 60 2.14 28
1-2005 107 10 10 127 4.1 31
12-2004 72 1 3 76 2.45 31
11-2004 137 4 0 141 4.7 30
10-2004 64 2 2 68 2.19 31
9-2004 80 3 4 87 2.9 30
8-2004 66 4 5 75 2.42 31
7-2004 54 1 3 58 1.87 31
6-2004 42 1 7 50 1.67 30
5-2004 80 0 4 84 2.71 31
4-2004 135 0 5 140 4.67 30
3-2004 52 0 0 52 1.68 31
2-2004 20 1 2 23 0.79 29
1-2004 47 5 0 52 1.68 31
12-2003 40 0 8 48 1.55 31
11-2003 82 1 27 110 3.67 30
10-2003 44 1 2 47 1.52 31
9-2003 31 1 1 33 1.1 30
8-2003 35 6 2 43 1.39 31
7-2003 48 1 0 49 1.58 31
6-2003 30 6 0 36 1.2 30
5-2003 37 4 1 42 1.35 31
4-2003 74 6 0 80 2.67 30
3-2003 65 27 0 92 7.67 12
Total 3653 163 129 3945 2.47 1595

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Wounded and Medical evacs, self inflicted deaths and Iraqi deaths are also detailed by month & year at that site.

It sure doesn't look like much of a change to me!!!!

Edit: You might just want to go to the site to see the chart details. I tried putting spaces between the numbers to line them up correctly, but when I posted it, the darn spaces all disappeared! Sorry.

[dkofos]

2. They did manage to keep it under 100 this month. To some, (really

fucking stupid) people that's progress.

Come on, Iraqi's you can do better than that.

[Horse with no Name]

3. Reported.

I wonder how many dead just haven't been reported yet...we'll never know until they all come home but I believe with every fiber of my being that the deaths are being under-reported.
How many that were killed do we hear of that "they were going home next week"?
Way too many for my comfort.
Makes you wonder if that is why they extended the tours? To buy time to play with the numbers until after the election?

[dkofos]

4. good point