How's the surge working? Facts and figures for May through July 2003-2007

[ProSense]

May through July 2003-2007:

..........May.....June....July....Total
2007....126......101......74......301
2006.......69........61.......43......173
2005.......80........78.......54......212
2004.......80........42.......54......176
2003.......37........30.......48......115

U.S. toll in Iraq lowest in 8 months

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer
47 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said Tuesday that a Marine was killed in fighting west of the capital, pushing the American death toll for July to at least 73, the lowest in eight months.

An Apache helicopter also went down Tuesday after coming under fire in a predominantly Shiite area in eastern Baghdad, but both crew members were safely evacuated, the military said.

President Bush's nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meanwhile, acknowledged that slow progress in Iraq is hurting America's credibility and emboldening Iran's regional ambitions.

While steady progress has been made on the military front, Iraq's political factions have made only limited headway in achieving reconciliation, said Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, who has been nominated to replace U.S. Gen. Peter Pace as the nation's top military officer.

Iraq's parliament shrugged off U.S. criticism and adjourned for a month, as key lawmakers declared there was no point waiting any longer for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to deliver Washington-demanded benchmark legislation for their vote.

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FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 31

31 Jul 2007 11:51:44 GMT
Source: Reuters

July 31 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1130 GMT on Tuesday:

* denotes new or updated item.

* KUT - Police retrieved the bodies of six people, shot and tortured, from the Tigris River in the city of Kut, 170 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, and in the town of Suwayra, 40 km (25 miles) south of the capital, police said.

* BAGHDAD - A U.S. Apache attack helicopter made a precautionary landing near New Baghdad district in eastern Baghdad after coming under attack from ground fire, the U.S. military said. The crew was safely evacuated.

* BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army checkpoint, wounding five soldiers, in western Mansour, police said. In a separate incident, a bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol killed one soldier and wounded seven, a hospital source said. Police said the only casualties in that incident were six wounded civilians.

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army arrested 36 insurgents in different parts of Iraq during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said.

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FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 30

30 Jul 2007 20:14:37 GMT
Source: Reuters

July 30 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 2000 GMT on Monday:

* denotes new or updated item.

* BAGHDAD - Twenty-five bodies were found dumped across Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.

* BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol killed four soldiers and wounded three others in the Jamiaa district of western Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed six people and wounded 31 in al-Tayran Square in a mainly Shi'ite area of central Baghdad, police said.

FALLUJA - Three U.S. soldiers were killed in combat in western Anbar province on Thursday, the U.S. military said.

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Daily attacks in Iraq hit new high in June

By David Morgan Reuters - Friday, July 20 11:08 pm

<...>

U.S. military commanders have sought to paint a more upbeat picture of events on the ground while pleading for additional time to determine whether the Bush strategy can succeed.

The statistics showed the 177.8 attacks per day in June were above the 157.5 in March, the lowest daily average for any month in 2007. Total monthly attack figures have also climbed to well over 5,000 from a low in February of 4,561.

Attacks last month were up 46 percent from a year earlier, with the statistics showing 3,642 attacks or 121.4 per day on average in June 2006.

The June 2007 statistics confirmed a significant decline in the targeting of Iraqi civilians, with such attacks falling 18 percent to 763 from a 2007 high of 932 in May.

Attacks on Iraqi security forces fell to 889 in June from 987 in May, while attacks on coalition forces rose about 7 percent to 3,671 from 3,423.

20 Rockets, Mortar Shells, Hit Green Zone; Kill 3... (July 11)

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Lindsey Graham: Escalation ‘Is Working Beyond My Expectations’

[ProSense]

1. Iraq Withdrawal: Five Difficult Questions

Iraq Withdrawal: Five Difficult Questions

[ProSense]

2. No military solution in Iraq: new top military advisor

No military solution in Iraq: new top military advisor

1 hour, 19 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Additional US troops are improving security in Iraq, although peace ultimately will be won politically, not militarily, the incoming top military advisor told senators Tuesday.

Admiral Michael Mullen, at a congressional hearing on his nomination to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a "surge" of some 30,000 additional US troops into Iraq is beginning to show moderate signs of success.

"The surge is giving our operational commanders the forces they needed to execute more effective tactics and improve security," Mullen told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, adding that the security on the ground in Iraq is "not great, but better."

"Security is critical to providing the government of Iraq the breathing space it needs to work toward political national reconciliation and economic growth, which are themselves critical to a stable Iraq," he said.

"Barring that, no amount of troops and no amount of time will make much of a difference," said Mullen, who is expected to win committee support to become President George W. Bush's top military adviser.

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[dkofos]

3. So it looks to me like July is just a slow month for killing.

So much for the surge working.

[ProSense]

4. Compared to the other years in this illegal war:

yes!

[ProSense]

8. Ramstein sees more patients since ‘surge’

Ramstein sees more patients since ‘surge’

By Scott Schonauer, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, July 23, 2007

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — The “surge” in U.S. troops in Iraq has resulted in an increase in patients passing through this base.

Airmen have been working extra hours to accommodate the increase in patients, said Maj. Paul Langevin, who commands the 85 people who work at the facility. The staff includes active- duty, National Guard and Reserve personnel. They work around the clock to transport patients and prepare them for flights.

May and June stand among the busiest months ever for airmen who help transport and care for wounded servicemembers coming from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Air Force figures.

June saw the highest number of patient movements since April 2004, when U.S. forces conducted a major offensive on the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

In May, the airmen conducted 1,545 “patient movements.” In June, the facility saw 1,564 movements.

<...>

Only two other months have been higher than May and June, he said. The facility saw the greatest number of patients in April and May 2003. April 2004, when military forces converged on Fallujah, was the second busiest time, Langevin said. He could not provide statistics for those months.

Since 2003, the facility has received 43,807 patients from Afghanistan and Iraq. Of those, 9,548 had battle injuries. Airmen have conducted nearly 70,000 patient movements.

[JanMichael]

5. The worst July in five years.

I saw the first article about the low recent month and could not believe the spin.

[ismnotwasm]

6. Thank you for this

That "Lowest in 8 months" death toll made me sick, seeing as how there shouldn't BE a death toll.

[leftofthedial]

7. In July in Baghdad

it's too fucking hot to kill people

[ProSense]

9. "There's also concern about the Iraqi death toll, which rose this month."

CNN:

Still, July's U.S. death toll is almost twice as high as for the same period last year -- 43 fatalities -- a sign of the persistent violence in the long conflict. The numbers come from a CNN count of Pentagon figures.

There's also concern about the Iraqi death toll, which rose this month. At least 1,653 civilians were killed in July, the Iraqi Interior Ministry told CNN on Tuesday. The number had dipped to 1,227 last month.

At least 79 Iraqi soldiers were killed in July, compared with 31 in June, the Ministry said.

Police found 44 bodies across Baghdad in the last two days, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Tuesday. The bodies -- believed to result from Sunni-Shiite sectarian fighting -- bring the number of corpses found in Baghdad in July to 612.

[ProSense]

10. Kick! n/t