[lbo-talk] Juan Cole: there's only one way to read deaths in Iraq: up

Michael Pollak mpollak at panix.com
Fri Aug 3 12:09:51 PDT 2007


[Links in original]

http://www.juancole.com/2007/08/deadliest-july-yet-for-us-troops-23.html

Wednesday, August 01, 2007 Informed Comment

Deadliest July Yet for US Troops; 23% Rise in Iraqi Deaths in July; Maliki Government Teeters--Sunni, Da'wa Discontent

2007 saw the deadliest July for US troops since the Iraq War began. It

also saw a 23% rise in Iraqi deaths over June. July is like a blast

furnace in Iraq, with temperatures approaching 120 degrees F. in the

shade. Guerrillas typically lie low in this unfavorable environment,

compared to other seasons, and so the casualty rates go down. Instead,

this year the killing season has gone on as if it were spring.

Number of US troops killed in Iraq, July, 2007: 78

Number of US troops killed in Iraq, July, 2006: 43.

Not only were the US deaths unprecedentedly high in July, the March

through June death statistics were also very high.

And, June saw the highest number of over-all attacks since the war

began.

AP adds: "Iraqi deaths rose, with at least 2,024 civilians, government

officials and security forces killed in July, about 23 percent more

than the 1,640 who died violently in June, according to Associated

Press figures compiled from police reports nationwide."

Pentagon spokesmen are attempting to portray this near doubling of July

troop deaths as a sign of improvement on the security side, counting

from June rather than looking at past July figures-- and I fear some

corporate media are falling for it.

[Congrats to Blake Hounshell of Foreign Policy for being willing to

look into this Pentagon black psy-ops operation-- after having been

caught up in the spin himself--and for concluding that Gen. Ray Odierno

is in fact misrepresenting the case.]

I saw Michael O'Hanlon of Brookings on CNN Sunday saying he thought

that the violence was less now. (O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack also gave us

that uh, optimistic, op-ed about 'a war we could win' in the NYT.) I'd

be interested in knowing how he is measuring this supposed fall in

violence. If it is the deadliest July ever for US troops in Iraq; if

there is a 23% increase in Iraqi deaths over June; if there were more

attacks in June than any time since April 2003-- how is that a decrease

in violence? Somebody explain that to me.

<end excerpt>

[BTW, the rest of today's entry is also very good on two other topics, Kurdish/Shiite politics and intra-Dawa politics: http://www.juancole.com/2007/08/deadliest-july-yet-for-us-troops-23.html]

Michael



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