Posted on 07/20/2007 8:34:50 PM PDT by mdittmar
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attacks in Iraq last month reached their highest daily average since May 2003, showing a surge in violence as President George W. Bush completed a buildup of U.S. troops, Pentagon statistics show.
The data, obtained by Reuters from the Defense Department, showed an upward trend in daily attacks over the past four months, when U.S. and Iraqi forces were ramping up operations against insurgents and militants, including al Qaeda, in Iraq.
Pentagon officials were not immediately available to comment on the statistics.
The June numbers showed 5,335 attacks against coalition troops, Iraqi security forces, civilians and infrastructure.
June's total was 2.5 percent below an October 2006 peak of 5,472 attacks and slightly lower than the 5,365 attacks in May.
But because June has only 30 days, the average daily number of attacks was 177.8, higher than the 176.5 last October and 173.1 in May.
The Pentagon statistics, which come as pressure mounts in the U.S. Congress for a troop withdrawal from Iraq, depicted the most intensive month for daily attacks since Bush declared major combat operations at an end in May 2003.
Daily attacks rose as the Bush administration moved the last combat battalions into place for a security clampdown in Baghdad, part of a controversial U.S. strategy to stabilize Iraq with an additional 28,000 troops.
Bush and other senior officials have predicted that a rise in violence from insurgents and al Qaeda in Iraq would occur this summer as the so-called "surge" strategy takes hold.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Breaking news: the number of useful idiots in the media hit an all time high today.
Guess rooters is running out of stringers.
Music to liberals ears.
I should have said: Casulties are down in July (this month).
We were liberating Baqugah last month. That was a major operation and al-Qaeda was fighting back: HARD
The number of coalition attacks on terrorists is at an all time high.
Of course attacks will rise. We’re in the middle of an offensive operation.
There are also fewer tackles in a football game between downs. There are fewer punches thrown in a fight between rounds.
However since, in the northern hemisphere, there is more daylight in the aggregate in June than in May, attacks per daylight hour were actually down.
Do you have a link for the terrorists killed?
As far as I know there is no accurate count of the number of terrorists killed.
Don’t forget the rotation of the earth.
yeah, that’s spin too.
Well. That just goes to prove that we should turn down the government of Iraq's ongoing request to maintain a military presence there to help them with their security.
If there were few attacks, then maybe our security aid would be needed, but since there are many, it's not.
/lefty_logic
Ramadi averaged 30+ attacks a day just six months ago, but is now sitting at less than one attack per day.
This reuters headline is a lie!
And the number of Iraqis killed in the month.....did that get left out?
I would bet that you’re right about those areas, and that the hot areas are those in which the war is being taken to the enemy.
And more tackles when you are in the red zone. Hopefully the zone in Iraq is red with al queda blood.
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