U.S. military officers say they are optimistic they are close to breaking the resistance. "We are winning this fight," said Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling,
Hmm. Guess you were wrong - yet again. Going for a record, eh?
Attacks down 22% since Saddam's capture
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — Attacks against coalition forces in Iraq have dropped 22% in the four weeks since Saddam Hussein's capture, military records show.
U.S. military officers say the decline in attacks, after months of growing intensity, is the first proof that Saddam's capture and recent U.S. offensives have dampened, but not eliminated, resistance to the occupation.
The average number of daily attacks fell to 18 in the four weeks since Dec. 14, when the coalition announced that Saddam had been captured the day before. In the four weeks before Saddam was found, attacks averaged 23 a day.
During the same periods, U.S. combat injuries dropped only slightly, from 233 in the four weeks before Saddam's capture to 224 in the four weeks after. And the attacks remain deadly: 22 troops killed from Nov. 16 through Dec. 13 and 31 in the comparable period Dec. 14- Jan. 10. But the figures for deaths do not include the 17 U.S. soldiers who died Nov. 15 when two helicopters crashed in the city of Mosul.
U.S. military officers say they are optimistic they are close to breaking the resistance. "We are winning this fight," said Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling, assistant commander of the 1st Armored Division, responsible for security in most of Baghdad.
usatoday.com |
