"Rising Civilian Toll Is the Iraq War's Silent, Sinister Pulse "

American casualties have increased, yet the targets long ago became primarily other iraqis, including iraqi civilians. It's a civil war, not deadenders fighting the invasion. The real measure of failure isn't just the number of dead Americans, it's that the sacrifice isn't securing the civil peace.

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By SABRINA TAVERNISE
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/international/middleeast/26civilians.html

Published: October 26, 2005

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The war here has claimed about 2,000 American service members, but in the cold calculus of the killing, far more Iraqis have been left dead. The figures vary widely, with Iraqi and American officials reluctant to release even the most incomplete of tallies.


In one count, compiled by Iraq Body Count, a United States-based nonprofit group that tracks the civilian deaths using news media reports, the total of Iraqi dead since the American-led invasion is 26,690 to 30,051.

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But the drop in suicide attacks comes amid an overall rise in violence and a shift in the nature of the killing. Shortly after the invasion, insurgent attacks were aimed almost exclusively at American troops, but as the months passed, Iraqis - civilians, police officers and soldiers - have suffered far greater losses, as insurgents, seeking maximum effect, focus attacks on the softest targets.

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