January 1, 2007
U.S. Death Toll Reaches 3000
The number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war started in 2003 has reached 3,000; this is a big milestone pushing the Bush administration to rethink their strategy for the increasingly violent conflict. These deaths are not just while on the frontlines, in fact many happen by accident at headquarters or on a friendly patrol when a civilian decides to become unfriendly just because they don’t really understand why the soldiers are there or they just don’t want them there. President Bush’s is considering sending in more troops to add to the 140,000 (137,000) already there, because the troops there can’t stop or slow the daily violence caused by an aggressive insurgency in the western province of Anbar and an increasingly bitter sectarian conflict in Baghdad. "What you see is the U.S. deeply involved in this fight against an insurrection and increasingly trying to bring order to a low-level civil war," Anthony H. Cordesman, an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said by telephone in Washington. "There's no way you can do that with 140,000 troops in a country of 27 million without having casualties." He added: "This pace of casualties is likely to go on until we can change or find a new approach." The most recent deaths happened during a particularly costly month of the war. With 111 fatalities, according to iCasualties.org, December was not only the deadliest month of 2006 for U.S. troops, but the deadliest in two years. Most of those deaths in the Anbar Province, and caused by improvised explosive devices. Also the number of service men and women being injured is also climbing. More than 22,000 troops were injured at this point in time.
U.S. Death Toll Reaches 3000
The number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war started in 2003 has reached 3,000; this is a big milestone pushing the Bush administration to rethink their strategy for the increasingly violent conflict. These deaths are not just while on the frontlines, in fact many happen by accident at headquarters or on a friendly patrol when a civilian decides to become unfriendly just because they don’t really understand why the soldiers are there or they just don’t want them there. President Bush’s is considering sending in more troops to add to the 140,000 (137,000) already there, because the troops there can’t stop or slow the daily violence caused by an aggressive insurgency in the western province of Anbar and an increasingly bitter sectarian conflict in Baghdad. "What you see is the U.S. deeply involved in this fight against an insurrection and increasingly trying to bring order to a low-level civil war," Anthony H. Cordesman, an analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said by telephone in Washington. "There's no way you can do that with 140,000 troops in a country of 27 million without having casualties." He added: "This pace of casualties is likely to go on until we can change or find a new approach." The most recent deaths happened during a particularly costly month of the war. With 111 fatalities, according to iCasualties.org, December was not only the deadliest month of 2006 for U.S. troops, but the deadliest in two years. Most of those deaths in the Anbar Province, and caused by improvised explosive devices. Also the number of service men and women being injured is also climbing. More than 22,000 troops were injured at this point in time.