The Toll - 9/2/07

As the United States enters its month of introspective assessment with respect to Iraq, some good things seem to be happening. First and foremost, U.S. military deaths are down sharply. McClatchy Newspapers reported today that “American combat deaths in Iraq have dropped by half in the three months since the buildup of 28,000 additional U.S. troops reached full strength, surprising analysts and dividing them as to why.”

Most seem to agree, however, that one reason for the decline is the improvement seen in Anbar province, where former Sunni insurgents have teamed up with American troops to root out the group al Qaeda in Iraq.

A second improvement was signaled this week when Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr ordered his Mahdi army to halt activity for six months, including attacks on American forces. A day before Sadr‘s announcement, Shiite militias had attacked each other in Karbala, killing over 50 people, setting fire to three hotels and totally disrupting a holy gathering involving an estimated one million people.

The stand-down was welcome news, particularly since it came on the heels of a report that the death toll for Iraqis was over 1,800 in August, up from 1,753 in July and 1,227 in June.

A day after Sadr’s announcement, the situation did seem calmer in Baghdad, although two suicide bombs claimed four lives and injured 11 others this morning, and 15 bodies were found around the capital yesterday.

Elsewhere in Iraq, assassinations, roadside bombs and booby-trapped cars continued to add to the chaos.

Also, the week had begun with a brief return of violence to the city of Fallouja, where a suicide bomber killed 10 worshippers and the imman in a Sunni Arab mosque.

For the citizenry of Iraq, death and danger continue to be accompanied by a critical absence of vital services. Electricity shortages, combined with the summer heat wave, have now produced a scarcity of clean water. This, in turn, has fueled a cholera outbreak in northern Iraq, where thousands have sought refuge from the violence. At this time, hospitals in the area are reported to be overwhelmed by the epidemic and fatalities are mounting.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense released the obituaries of 12 military personnel killed in the country last week, ranging in age from 21 to 40.  According to the website www.icasualties.org, U.S. deaths in Iraq now stand at 3,739, including one whose relatives are being notified today.

Also, last week, the Department of Defense released the obituaries of eight soldiers killed in Afghanistan, ranging in age from 21 to 40, making it one of the deadliest weeks in that country.  Total U.S. deaths in Afghanistan were 365, as of last Tuesday, according to the Pentagon.

Improvised explosive devices accounted for 6 of the total number of deaths (30%), another welcome improvement in the war data.

Among the fallen heroes was Army Staff Sgt. Sean P. Fisher, 29, of Santee, California.

Described by his high school teachers as a natural born leader, Sean had qualified to be a member of a high altitude rescue team while stationed in Alaska. His objective, however, was to become a skilled helicopter mechanic and be able to transfer that talent to civilian life.

He was on his second tour in Iraq when he was recently killed in a helicopter crash.

The LA Times reported that his mother said “she had received hate mail for publicly expressing her concerns about the U.S. involvement in the Iraq war and for wanting President Bush to ‘bring our boys home.’”

His fiancée, Melissa Valentine, 27, said that Sean was fun and loved life. In the last e-mail he sent her, he had said “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you and Bailey (his six-year old daughter). I have a shiny surprise for you.”

The nature of the surprise is unknown, but it was reported that he was picking out a house for them in Alaska.

Sean was awarded the bronze Star for meritorious service.

The war in Afghanistan saw a major battle this past week in the southern province of Kandahar in which 100 suspected Taliban fighters were reported to have been killed.

As for Iraq, the LA Times reported that children are being used in greater numbers than foreign fighters.  At U.S. detention camps in the country, the number of children being held, some as young as 11, has recently risen from 100 to 800.  At the same time, the number of non-Iraqi fighters in U.S. custody is only 130.  The figures were provided by Major General Douglas Stone, commander of detainee operations.

Reuter reported that Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday that the government had made good progress in responding to U.S. goals for improved security and political cohesion.

And on Friday, The Australian interviewed General Petraeus, the top U.S. general in Iraq. The general told the paper: “We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress and we believe al-Qaeda is off balance at the very least,"

According to the newspaper, “Petraeus said there had been a 75 percent drop in ethnic and religious killings since last year, a doubling in the number of seizures of insurgent weapons caches between January and August, a drop in the number of coalition deaths from roadside bombs, and an increase in the killing and capture of al-Qaeda fighters.”

He also said the surge would continue for several more months and the troop level would then be phased down,

The general added “"It's a bit macabre but some areas were literally on fire with hundreds of bodies every week and a total of 2,100 in the month of December '06, Iraq-wide. It is still much too high but we think in August in Baghdad it will be as little as one quarter of what it was."

Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that, for Iraq as a whole, civilian deaths in August exceeded 1,800, the second deadliest month since the troop buildup began.

The general’s claim concerning “a drop in the number of coalition deaths from roadside bombs” may have also been somewhat misleading, given the weekly information that has been posted on this site. The statement might accurately describe the most recent data, but, just three weeks ago, the Associated Press reported that “roadside bomb attacks on American troops in Iraq reached an all-time high last month.”

If any benefit is to be gained from the growing domestic debate over what to do in Iraq, it is imperative that those in power be accurate and forthright in the presentation of their information.