Worst 3 months for U.S. in Iraq since war began (Decrease in US deaths by 20% from previous month)

MSNBC ^ | 6/29/2007 | AP

[tobyhill]

BAGHDAD - Insurgents launched a deadly coordinated attack on an American combat patrol, the U.S. military said Friday, killing five troops and making this the deadliest quarter for U.S. soldiers in Iraq since the war began.

Assailants detonated a roadside bomb, then fired guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the soldiers. Seven troops were wounded in the attack on Thursday in southern Baghdad and were evacuated to a military hospital; one has since returned to duty, the military said.

The deaths brought to 99 the number of U.S. troops to die in Iraq this month, according to an Associated Press count. The toll for the past three months — 329 — made it the deadliest such period for GIs since the war began in March 2003.

[FreeAtlanta]

Sensationalism. They don’t bother saying why in the first paragraph. It probably is also the most deadly for terrorist scumbags (aka, the allies of msnbc).

[RicocheT]

The filth at MSNBC dishonor the brave efforts of our US troops fighting abroad by highlighting the deaths, instead of recognizing their bravery. The “news” written by the left amounts to a political editorial and facts are only used to hang an agenda on.

[DonaldC]

We just need to catch a few more of these! lol

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Well, if you start going after the enemy and killing them like cockroaches you're going to have more casualties for a while, until all the cockroaches are dead when you don't have any more casualties.

[tobyhill]

The media can take a combination of any scenarios and make records out of it. The amount of civilian casualties are down 32% from the previous month and the lowest since June ‘06.

[reagan_fanatic]

The media is making these terrorists out to be much more intelligent than they really are. In reality, it doesn't take much in the way of gray matter to set up a trap like this. All the terrorists have to do is lay the trap, wait, then shoot whatever moves.

I wonder how many of out troops putting their lives on the lines are being demoralized by reading this kind of crapola glorifying the 'skills' of the enemy.

[weezel]

Makes sense. September is D-Day for the war in washington, alqeda is simply giving their allies in the DNC some help with their talking points.

[bray]

The Surge is Working and cowardly terrorists are Dying!!

Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters

[sauropod]

LOL! the hair on her body is real!

[Asclepius]

In reality, it doesn't take much in the way of gray matter to set up a trap like this. All the terrorists have to do is lay the trap, wait, then shoot whatever moves.

Precisely. Only this is precisely the problem, a tactical vulnerability that makes it possible for sub-literate rubes with improvised weapons to inflict damage on hugely expensive, sophisticated weapons and equipment, and the highly trained, highly skilled personnel who operate it. This is always the problem when the strong take on the weak: every mistep, ever failure, every ambush or assault where the enemy gets lucky is perceived as a major victory for them; on the other hand we can kill thousands of the enemy and it will still be counted as a defeat when the next car bomb goes off because there are still a few around who can fight.

How do you win in conditions like these?

[kaybi]

its important to know the toll of the US mission in iraq. if you don’t care how many die in the process... that’s your deal. it is useless now to have the debate whether or not the war was the right step.. now we can only sit back and count the casualties. war, baby.

[kaybi]

where did you get those statistics? URL PLZ

[Dilbert56]

Amazing to have that many troops in action and still keep KIA below 100. I guess NBC thinks the objective of a military operation is to minimize casualties for our side rather than maximizing it for theirs. With this media and this Congress, we would have sued for peace two weeks into the Battle of the Bulge in WWII.

[Defiant]

The death toll has nothing to do with winning or losing, unless you let the death toll dictate policy. Otherwise, we would have been losing after Iwo Jima and D-Day, but both those battles indicated that we were going to win the war. The surge, putting more of our troops in harms way, is designed to destroy the enemy in the cities where they hide, and diminish their capacity to continue to resist. It will naturally result in more US casualties, but at the same time, contribute to conditions that will permit victory. Death does not equal defeat—unless a treasonous press and quisling Americans allow it to.

[ryan71]

RSM?

[colorado tanker]

Idiots. Success in war is measured by the objectives that are achieved, not by the number of your casualties. Indeed, taking more casualties usually means you’re fighting harder.

[jonrick46]

When we have intensified our effort to purge the enemy block by block, there will be more attacks. We are unearthing them like hornets in their nests. When they're gone, they don't come back. As I have called it, they are being purged by the surge.

[CougarGA7]

Just remember that you can make a statistic say whatever you want.

Example: 50% of marriages end in divorce (sounds bad)

But.....That mean 50% end in DEATH!! (The Horror!!)

[tobyhill]

http://icasualties.org/oif/