Iraq War Marks First Month With No U.S. Military Deaths

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

BAGHDAD — Under increased pressure from the United States, an Iraqi crackdown on Iranian-backed Shiite militias has helped produce a previously elusive goal: For the first time since the American invasion of Iraq, an entire month has passed without a single United States service member dying.

The milestone is particularly remarkable because it comes after 14 troops were killed in July, making it the most deadly month for the Americans in three years, and it has occurred amid a frightening campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations from Sunni insurgents that killed hundreds of Iraqis, resurrecting the specter of the worst days of sectarian fighting.

“If you had thought about a month without a death back during the surge in 2007, it would have been pretty hard to imagine because we were losing soldiers every day, dozens a week,” said Col. Douglas Crissman, who is in charge of American forces in four provinces of southern Iraq and oversaw a battalion in Anbar Province during the troop increase. “I think this shows how far the Iraqi security forces have come.”

None of the roughly 48,000 troops in Iraq were killed in August, a remarkable if fragile achievement, officials said. In all, 4,465 American soldiers have died here since the United States invasion in 2003, according to Defense Department figures.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?pagewanted=all

[No Elephants]

1. k & r Thanks for this thread, Alp.

[pam4water]

2. Just immagine how many months we could have gone with out American death if we never invaded ;)

[Brother Buzz]

3. Meanwhile, things are going swimmingly in Afghanistan

[kas125]

4. That's great. But it was the deadliest month so far in Afghanistan,

so that pretty much cancels out the first month of no deaths in Iraq.

[deadinsider]

5. I thought we weren't 'at war' there anymore...

Isn't that war over? You can't have it both ways: either the troops still there are at war, or they are not.

And this is another prediction: we will never, ever leave Iraq. Ever. It will be the new "South Korea."

And we will never, ever leave Afghanistan either.

It isn't just for oil or resources. It's for the military bases.

[BadtotheboneBob]

6. 'Tripwire'

I believe the Administration's rationale for keeping US advisers in Iraq is a preventative measure to deter Iran from any overt military action against Iraq. Any US advisers embedded in Iraqi Army units harmed by an Iranian attack, even a small scale clash, could trigger a 'justified' US military retaliation against the Iranian regime. I suppose you could call the advisers, 'Bait'...

[Zephie]

7. First Fatality-Free Month For U.S. Military In Iraq

Source: Talking Points Memo

For the first time since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, a month passed without a single American military fatality here, a US military spokeswoman said on Thursday.

"August was the first month with no hostile deaths and no non-combat deaths, which includes accidents or illness," Major Angela Funaro told AFP in an emailed response to questions.

"However, there were two other months on record (December 2009 and 0ctober 2010) when the USF-I (United States Forces-Iraq) had no hostile deaths but at least one non-combat-related death," she added.

The record low death toll for August comes with just months to go before a year-end deadline for all US troops to withdraw from Iraq, unless Baghdad and Washington reach an accord on a post-2011 military training mission.

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2011/09/first_fatality-free_month_for_us_military_in_iraq.php

---

Previous lowest was December 2010 with one death.

[chrisa]

8. Awesome!

[Blecht]

9. Sounds like a good time to get the hell out

Let's quit before we fall further behind.

[wtmusic]

10. When you kill everyone who doesn't like you

it makes for a very safe environment. :thumbsup:

[trumad]

11. It's funny how they don't include suicides

here back in the states...which are now higher than they have ever been.

[ClarkUSA]

12. Iraq War Marks First Month With No U.S. Military Deaths

Source: The New York Times

BAGHDAD — Under increased pressure from the United States, an Iraqi crackdown on Iranian-backed Shiite militias has helped produce a previously elusive goal: For the first time since the American invasion of Iraq, an entire month has passed without a single United States service member dying.

The milestone is particularly remarkable because it comes after 14 troops were killed in July, making it the most deadly month for the Americans in three years, and it has occurred amid a frightening campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations from Sunni insurgents that killed hundreds of Iraqis, resurrecting the specter of the worst days of sectarian fighting... The Iraqi government continues to rely on American forces and expertise to preserve security...“The militia groups involved are being paid by the Iranians to make trouble for the Americans, and that means that their main objective is no longer there if the Americans withdraw all their troops,” said Joost Hiltermann, the International Crisis Group’s deputy program director for the Middle East. “It doesn’t mean they won’t exist altogether, but their violence will be harder to justify.”

American military and diplomatic officials said Iraq has not only pressed the militias, but also sent word directly to Tehran to back off on attacks. The Iranians had used the militias, which are primarily based in the southern part of the country and Baghdad, to wage a proxy battle with the Americans for dominance and influence in Iraq. Those militias were responsible for 12 of the 14 deaths in June, many the result of rocket or mortar attacks on military bases... In a single day in July, a base in the southern province of Maysan was attacked with rockets 43 times.

<snip>

Colonel Crissman and other military officials cautioned that the August figures did not mean that Iraq was suddenly safe, either for the United States military or the Iraqis. They said that as the United States began to withdraw its troops in the coming months, there would likely be a resurgence in attacks as militias and insurgents tried to claim responsibility for pushing the Americans out of Iraq.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

[marasinghe]

13. any projections from the NYT on when Iraqis can go a month, or a day, without any Iraqi deaths?

wasn't the NY Times one of the cheerleaders pushing the launch of the bushwipe's shock'n awe show in Baghdad?