By Larry Johnson on October 25, 2007
There is some undeniable good news out of Iraq–the number of U.S. combat fatalities has dropped by at least 50% of the average monthly rate for the last year. Still, U.S. troops are being killed and wounded on a daily basis. Some days are worse than others. Here is the latest as of Wednesday, 24 October:
But the numbers are misleading and other signs continue to point in the wrong direction.
If the drop in U.S. combat deaths was a consequence of less fighting in Iraq in general then a celebration would be in order. But that is not the case. It appears that there has been a shift in U.S. tactics–fewer ground patrols and more air strikes (see
Juan Cole’s commentary) . But it also appears that some of the Iraqi insurgent groups have opted to lay low rather than seek a head on confrontation. The real measure of whether the U.S. surge is working remains Iraqi politics; and on that front the news is not good.
Declining violence in Baghdad, for example, hides the darker news that we are witnessing the peace of the graveyard. The “improved security” is a by product of successful ethnic cleansing. The purge of Sunnis from mixed Sunni/Shia neighborhoods continues virtually unabated. Moqtada Al Sadr’s militia, working in tandem with Iraqi police, are expelling Sunnis from their homes. The following AP story tries to polish the turd but cannot hide the fact that the beat goes on:
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