Five thousand die in Iraq this year
The Associated Press reports that more than 800 Iraqis died in violence related to terrorism in August bringing the total for the year to over 5 thousand. The number supposedly doesn’t include terrorist deaths.
The United Nations said Sunday it recorded 807 people killed in August, including members of Iraq’s security forces but not insurgents. The capital Baghdad was the part of the country worst affected, with 317 killed. The U.N. figure was lower than its July death toll, which stood at 1,057.
A deadly crackdown by the Shiite-led government on a Sunni protest camp in northern Iraq in April has caused insurgent attacks to spike, bringing death tolls to levels not seen since 2008.
But, I remember that we were told back in 2006 that the violence in Iraq would end once US troops left, that the only reason there was killing there is because we were responsible. Well, we’ve been gone a while and the killing hasn’t ended.
And, although the media has moved it’s focus to Syria, I guess there’s still a war going on in Afghanistan. There was an attack this morning in which three Taliban fellows went to their virgins, also according to Associated Press;
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the strike in the Torkham area, the latest in a surge of attacks in Afghanistan as U.S.-led foreign troops reduce their presence en route to a full withdrawal by the end of next year. Militants frequently target NATO’s supply lines in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In a brief statement, NATO confirmed an “unsuccessful coordinated attack by enemy forces” but said none of its personnel were killed. The military alliance generally does not release information on wounded troops. No members of the Afghan security forces or civilians were killed or wounded, according to Esa Khan Zwak, chief administrator in Mohmandara district, in which the base is located.
Wait. There’s a “surge in attacks” going on in Afghanistan? Don’t the Taliban know that we’re leaving soon? Why would they increase their attacks if we’re running for the exits? This just goes against everything I’ve been told the last twelve years. I’m so confused.
Category: Terror War
It is because the Taliban feels that they are winning, so they need to keep the pressure on us or we won’t go.
Which shows they don’t understand the US mentality. if they really wanted to get us out, they would have stopped all attacks and just stood around yelling “Yankee go home”. After about six months of nothing happening, we would have packed up and left. Which is very much not like other nations. They would use the quite time to dig in and take over. We only do that when someone hits us. if they don’t hit us, we get “board” and leave.
Iraq isn’t exactly like the headlines say.
This story appeared in yesterday’s San Diego Union-Tribune. It is a tale by Adam Schreck of the AP about “rising unrest” in Iraq. It connects two incidents, namely the publication of a snuff video by jihadi militants who decided to block a major highway in Iraq and murder three people, and the publication of another video, where a man, who had been seen parking a car that later blew up, was chased down by witnesses and the witnesses killed him, and published a video of their rough and immediate justice. While the headline seems to suggest political unrest, the body of the article suggests that citizens of all sects in Iraq are banding together to protect themselves, and to send a vigorous message back to the terrorists, in terms the terrorists might understand.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ_RISING_LAWLESSNESS?SITE=VALYD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
I found the part about the police “failure” to intervene in the vigilante activity amusing, especially in light of the number of police and police recruits in Iraq who have been killed by car bombs.
So, is it “increasing unrest” when the locals rise up and handle the terrorists directly, or is it a people starting to impose civilization?
Syrians on the street:
http://www.france24.com/en/20130901-relief-damascus-syrians-mock-obama-coward
Only 5,000? I recall back in 2004 how anti-Bush math was claiming we were killing around 5,000 women and children every hour. There are still some numbnuts out there who believe we killed millions of Iraqis each year.
Given the way he campaigned and the way the snooze media hyped and pimped him, you’d think B. Hussein 0bama could solve it all and calm the Seas with just a wave of his hand. Reality bites sometimes, doesn’t it, B-HO?
I’m a cold hearted SOB….I think it’s better that the Iraqis and the Syrians are killing each other than killing us.
The problem is that think and fight in the twenty first century, while our enemies think and fight in the twelfth century. While we think in terms of protecting civilians the enemy sees civilians as tools to use against us. It is how they counter our military and technological advantages. We will not fight them the same way they fight because we wish to maintain our moral superiority. Our goals may be morally superior but our tactics are grossly inferior. Their aims are to terrorize the common people while we, wrongly in my opinion, are still trying to win hearts and minds. I remember the last time we tried hearts and minds, and I remember how badly it failed. The only way to change a terrorists mind is to put a 7.62 mm FMJ through it.
Whatever.
Fuck those guys. Let Allah sort it out.
okay, conceded: if we are not killing Iraqis, Afghans, and Syrians, they kill each other. And this is our problem how?
Thumbs up to CI roller – my attitude precisely.
I am down with them killing double that number if that is what it takes to keep them occupied. Hell, we can supply them with some of that Department of Homeland Security ammo that everyone was so worried about….
Iraqi’s killing each other?
That’s not news. It’s been happening for thousands of years.
At least no American’s are caught up in the fray.
Other than that… I’ll go with what #8 and #10 wrote.