Deaths Down Significantly Since Surge Started In Iraq

[rushmc 23]

Granted it has only been a month. Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats in the article was posted.

Have any of you seen this on any of the US news outlets?

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=961365

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[jarrodh 0]

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Granted it has only been a month. Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats in the article was posted.

Have any of you seen this on any of the US news outlets?

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=961365

I JUST saw this on NBC news. They mentioned off hand how deaths are down SLIGHTLY since the troop surge. I dont remember them citing a source though.

2 BITS....4 BITS....6 BITS....A DOLLAR!....ALL FOR THE GATORS....STAND UP AND HOLLER!!!!

[jakee 1,594]

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Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats in the article was posted.

Huh?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[billvon 3,114]

>Have any of you seen this on any of the US news outlets?

A quick search reveals that CNN, AP, Reuters, MSNBC and USA Today are carrying the story.

I hope it's the beginning of a reduction in violence, and not yet another premature declaration of victory. We've all heard "the insurgency is in its last throes" one too many times.

[DZJ 0]

Deaths among US servicemen down, or deaths of Iraqis as well? Surely the latter is a better yardstick.

[DaVinci 0]

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Granted it has only been a month

While it would be nice...I doubt it will last. I HOPE it will last, but I doubt it will.

Rebel fighters have all the time in the world. They just sit and wait for a target. They can wait a long time.

[Guest]

From the Strategy Page:

Saddam, We Miss You
March 15, 2007: Attitude does matter. With the addition of just two brigades of U.S. troops, and the equivalent of four brigades of Iraqi troops and police, the death toll from terrorist bombs is down 36 percent over the last month, and killings by death squads are down by half. Attacks against government officials (including police) are down 70 percent) Moreover, arrests of terrorists and death squad killers is up, as is the discovery of bomb factories, terrorist safe houses and death squad hideouts. In the last month, 110 roadside bombs, and 16 car bombs, were found and defused, in addition to dozens of other roadside bombs that were destroyed in place. The government is on the offensive, and the bad guys blinked.
There are more visible signs of the change in Baghdad, besides fewer bombs going off, and fewer bodies being discovered in the morning. You don't see Shia or Sunni freelancers setting up checkpoints to look for victims (of the other religious sect). There's a lot less gunfire in the city. Anyone who is not authorized to carry a weapon openly, risks arrest if they do so these days.

The bad guys are making the best of the situation, by trying to hide until the "surge" is over. That may take a while, since American commanders are talking about a lengthily operation, and the addition of three more American brigades and still being at it after the Summer. The object of the operation is not just to reduce the violence in Baghdad, but to destroy the causes. That means arresting, or killing, the leadership of the Sunni terrorist organizations (there are over a dozen of them), as well as the technicians (bomb builders, bomb deployment supervisors, suicide bomber recruiters and handlers) required to carry out the attacks. This was the method used by Israel to neutralize the Palestinian terror bombing campaign. The Iraqi terrorists know this, and are not optimistic about escaping the fate of the Palestinian terrorists. In Iraq, the bombers widely are hated, and have little support outside the Sunni Arab minority (which is now only about ten percent of the population, and not all of those are into terror any more.)

Meanwhile, the Shia and Kurd death squads are waiting for the Americans and the government to finish off the Sunni Terrorists, so that the destruction of the Sunni Arab community in Iraq can be completed. The job is only half done, and the second half will require operations in the wholly Sunni towns and villages outside Baghdad and in western Iraq. That will require a lot more effort, and some serious combat. Thus far, the death squads have mainly operated inside Baghdad, clearing Sunni Arab neighborhoods, kidnapping Sunnis or rounding them up at night and killing them. Sunni towns will be guarded, and ready for a fight. The leaders of the remaining Sunni Arabs are switching sides. It's pretty obvious that siding with the Sunni terrorist groups is suicidal, although many Sunni tribal leaders are reluctant to say that, and try to play both sides. But as the government moves more troops and police into Sunni Arab towns, the chiefs are being forced to openly declare their allegiance. This is all going to get ugly, because it's often a family feud. Everyone knows everyone else.

An increasing number of Sunni Arabs are giving up and fleeing the country. It used to be, the only ones that left were those that had money. But more and more, Sunni Arabs are just going, and arriving penniless in Syria and Jordan. The situation has become so desperate that the UN is setting up a feeding program, to prevent malnutrition and starvation among the growing number of Sunni Arab refugees. You'd think that the affluent Sunni Arabs of the region (who control most of the oil) would come to the aid of these desperate people. But for many Sunni Arabs in the region, the fact that most of the Iraqi Sunni Arabs have been chased out is too painful to confront, or even acknowledge. For over 1,200 years, Sunni Arabs have dominated Baghdad. Now that is coming to an end, and the hated Shia are taking over.

The Sunni-Shia conflict is a big deal in the Persian Gulf. For several centuries, the Turks kept the Shia Iranians under control. After the Turks retreated from the region in 1918, the Westerners contained Iran. But now the Sunni masters of Iraq have been removed from power, Iran is building nuclear weapons, and the traditional terror from the east, the Iranians, are again threatening the Arabs. With few exceptions, the Iranians have won when they moved west. It's not just Iranian soldiers that the Arabs fear, but the domination by the Iranian form of Islam, Shiism. It's no wonder so many Arabs see the liberation of Iraq from Saddam as a disaster.
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[rushmc 23]

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>Have any of you seen this on any of the US news outlets?

A quick search reveals that CNN, AP, Reuters, MSNBC and USA Today are carrying the story.

I hope it's the beginning of a reduction in violence, and not yet another premature declaration of victory. We've all heard "the insurgency is in its last throes" one too many times.

I found it in a couple of local papers and heard it on radio reports on the way to work this am. Not the same flare as the death numbers reports but there non the less.

As another poster said on this thread, the they, the enemy combatants, have all the time in the world. They can just wait but, I beleive people can get used to peace, and if the bad guys wait too long they find a different resistance than they had before.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 23]

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Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats in the article was posted.

Huh?

Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats since the article was posted.


Sorry

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Zipp0 1]

Every time we change tactics there is a temporary lull as the enemy figures out how to counter them.

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[rushmc 23]

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Every time we change tactics there is a temporary lull as the enemy figures out how to counter them.

True, we would do the same. (as we are doing)

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[jakee 1,594]

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Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats in the article was posted.

Huh?

Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats since the article was posted.

Really?

Some weird people out there

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[Zipp0 1]

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Every time we change tactics there is a temporary lull as the enemy figures out how to counter them.

True, we would do the same. (as we are doing)

The problem is, it is nearly impossible to defend against the kind of attacks that we face in Iraq over the long term. Ask any security expert and he will confirm. I have taken courses in personal security given by top terror experts(my job can require travel to bad regions of the world), and one of the major points has been that with enough time and study, any know defensive measures can be overcome. For instance, if the enemy knows you upgraded your armor, they use a bigger bomb.(or EFP's from Iran)

There are many, many historical examples of this.

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[rushmc 23]

so just fucking give up, its over, we cant win


I know you have all the info and intel. Only you knows how it really works.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[steveorino 7]

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so just fucking give up, its over, we cant win


I know you have all the info and intel. Only you knows how it really works.

I thought he looked like a general I knew from the JFKIMA.

steveOrino

[masterblaster72 0]

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Granted it has only been a month. Matt Drudge says he has recieved death threats in the article was posted.

Have any of you seen this on any of the US news outlets?

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=961365

If true, wonderful. Let's hope it stays that way.

So are you proud of your president for finally committing more troops as he was instructed to by generals over four years ago?

Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.

[Zipp0 1]

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so just fucking give up, its over, we cant win


I know you have all the info and intel. Only you knows how it really works.

Don't give up , change tactics. All experts agree that more people and guns is not the answer - especially in the long term.

And you should change your SC tactics. The one liners followed by the emoticons is getting old.

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[rushmc 23]

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so just fucking give up, its over, we cant win


I know you have all the info and intel. Only you knows how it really works.

Don't give up , change tactics. All experts agree that more people and guns is not the answer - especially in the long term.

And you should change your SC tactics. The one liners followed by the emoticons is getting old.

all the more reasons to keep it up

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Zipp0 1]

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Quote

Quote

so just fucking give up, its over, we cant win


I know you have all the info and intel. Only you knows how it really works.

Don't give up , change tactics. All experts agree that more people and guns is not the answer - especially in the long term.

And you should change your SC tactics. The one liners followed by the emoticons is getting old.

all the more reasons to keep it up

You are truly a chip off the Bush block.

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[narcimund 0]

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all the more reasons to keep it up

And all the more reason to remember to just scroll past anything posted by rushmc.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[opurt 0]

I hope this is the beginning of a real downslope in the violence.

However, there is a lull every March.

CNN's Casualty Breakdown has a graphical breakdown of casualties.

It's the first link in the first paragraph: "Graphical Breakdown Of Casualties".

Click on the 2006, 2005, 2004 casualty numbers. I'm not sure what causes the pattern.

[skydyvr 0]

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And all the more reason to remember to just scroll past anything posted by rushmc.

How very childish.

. . =(_8^(1)

[narcimund 0]

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And all the more reason to remember to just scroll past anything posted by rushmc.

How very childish.

You're right. rushmc saying he posts simply to be annoying is mature.

And how could I be so childish as to say it's not worth my time to read it?

I repent.

edited to add: And I'm SURE there's nothing partisan in you picking my post to call childish while giving a pass to rushmc's. Nuh uh! Pure intellectual honesty.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[skydyvr 0]

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And how could I be so childish as to say it's not worth my time to read it?

I'd bet most readers here habitually scroll past some posters as a matter of time economy, if nothing else. Hardly any of them mention it though.

Lol, I think I said that about Amazon once. Well, if I didn't I meant to (of course, I secretly read them all anyway, that which I could make out anyway).

. . =(_8^(1)

[rehmwa 2]

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And how could I be so childish as to say it's not worth my time to read it?

I'd bet most readers here habitually scroll past some posters as a matter of time economy, if nothing else. Hardly any of them mention it though.

Lol, I think I said that about Amazon once. Well, if I didn't I meant to (of course, I secretly read them all anyway, that which I could make out anyway).

could you pithy that up a bit? I'm in a hurry

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants