Troop Deaths Hit 1,904 in Iraq
The U.S. military said Tuesday that four U.S. soldiers died in two roadside bombings near the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi and a fifth died in a blast north of Baghdad, pushing the toll of American forces killed in Iraq past 1,900.
Why is this headline news today? Is 1900 some magical number? It is sad anytime that a US soldier is killed in combat, or by cowardly roadside bombings. I certainly don’t want to give the impression that it is not. But, it is comforting to know that the Cindy Sheehan crowd will not get the pleasure of defiling the sacrifice of another US serviceman or woman with one of their show crosses.
So, why is 1900 so important?
The casualty average for this month is at 1.25/day which is the lowest number since February of 2004 (0.79) and the fourth lowest casualty month since the War in Iraq began in March of 2003.
This tells us that either the terrorists are losing recruits, that the recruits are wising up and heading back home, that the Iraqi border is more secure, that Syria is doing more to stop the terrorists from crossing into Iraq, or that the US and Iraqi forces are making progress in squelching the terrorists that have been reeking havoc on the suffering Iraqis. This is terrific news and especially since the Constitutional Election is just one month away.
So, again, “Why 1900?” Didn’t the democratic media have a hurricane to blame on Bush? Or is that tomorrow?
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Also, today, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld held a news conference where he threw a few bombs of his own at the press. During the conference Rumsfeld blasted the press for mostly ignoring the successful Afghanistan election on Sunday. This part of his press conference has been mostly ignored by the media.
Rumsfeld noted that in the fall of 2001, in the early weeks of the U.S. war to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, some U.S. newspapers raised the specter of a military quagmire.
“Thankfully, millions of Afghans were determined to prove them wrong,” he said, referring to Sunday’s successful parliamentary elections.
One Hand Clapping is reporting on what appears to be terrorist personnel problems.
And, this post HERE seems to show that Al Qaida is losing it!
Confederate Yankee comments on Zarqawi’s drugging, beating and kidnapping of his “followers”.