The number of American soldiers killed in Iraq is telling a grave truth. The toll is ever on the rise. America has nearly 1,000 of its soldiers killed in Iraq since Memorial Day a year ago. And the violence shows no signs to budge; the figure is expected to rise further.
With the Baghdad security operation now 31/2 months old, even the US President George W Bush, acknowledges this fact.
It could be a bloody - it could be a very difficult August,
he said last week.
Since last Memorial Day, 980 soldiers and Marines died in Iraq, compared to 807 deaths in the previous year.
U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus recognized the increase in casualties as a result of the American gush in forces to regain control of Baghdad.
We’re doing heavy fighting. This is a fight. There’s a war on out there,
he told media persons at al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq.
Danger has held its sway in Iraq and risk is on every step. Thousands of American soldiers are patrolling the roads and staying in remote outposts across Baghdad, leaving them more susceptible to attack.
Stephen Biddle, a military expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of a group that spent weeks in Iraq assessing the situation for Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, rued,
The biggest change in their (insurgent and militia) tactics is that they’ve changed to exploit the vulnerabilities we’ve opened ourselves up to. They see a new, small American base in their neighborhood, three blocks away, and they’re going to car bomb it. We’re going to see a spike in the short term. But the likelihood is that in six months we’ll see a drop in casualties as these areas become more secure. The problem is, what about the rest of the country?
May has been so far the deadliest of all months with nearly an average of 3.85 deaths a day. This means by the end of the month more than 119 troops will have died, the most since 137 soldiers killed in November 2004 in Fallujah.
Since the Iraq war began in March 2003, at least 3,451 American soldiers have died. The number includes seven military civilians.
The war for oil in Iraq unleashed by the U.S. is costing America many lives. It may be President Bush’s hawkish policy. It may be Pentagon’s failure. It may be clash of civilization or growing menace of global terrorism, but it is certainly costing the U.S. the lives of its citizens and putting a dilemma before the U.S. law makers whether to exit Iraq or not.
Via: Msnbc
