Lies, Damned Lies and Iraq Deaths

04 Sep 2007 10:17 am

This is a pretty staggering passage from the LA Times:

According to U.S. military figures, an average of 1,000 Iraqis have died each month since March in sectarian violence. That compares with about 1,200 a month at the start of the security plan, the military said in an e-mailed response to queries. This does not include deaths from car bombings, which the military said have numbered more than 2,600 this year.

Divide 2,600 by eight and you get 325 a month. So the surge has led, according to the Pentagon's own numbers, to a slight increase in civilian casualties from sectarian/terrorist violence from last year - 1,200 a month - to this year - 1,325 a month. This, as Ilan Goldenberg points out, does not include Sunni on Sunni violence or internecine militia murders in the South. So apart from the increase in civilian deaths, and apart from no change at the political center, the surge is a success. How did you like that play again, Mrs Lincoln?

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