Is the Tide Finally Turning for the U.S. in Iraq?
Filed under: Middle East
There is stunningly good news to report coming out of Iraq. U.S. casualty figures for October were at their lowest level since March of 2006, and the casualty figures have declined very significantly from the third-worst month since the invasion in March of this year (126 casualties) to a figure last month that is nearly a quarter that amount (39). The figures for civilian casualties are also dramatically down. The BBC reports: "different sources do have different casualty figures for October but they all agree that the number of Iraqis killed by violence was again at a much lower level, as it had been in September."
The U.S. has taken 3,845 casualties since March 2003, averaging 69 casualties per month over that period, so the current level is far below the average -- in fact, almost half that rate. While tragic, this figure pales into insignificance compared to other similar U.S. incursions such as Vietnam (over 38,000) and Korea (over 30,000). And it can be easily argued that the Iraqi army was a far more powerful enemy that what was possessed by Vietnam or Korea. Certainly, it was much more technologically advanced.
Is the surge working? Should it be continued? What do you think about this data? We'd like to know.
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