Iraq Civilian Deaths Spiked in February
Violence on the Upswing as Poll Looms
Speaking today at Vanderbilt University, Gen. David Petraeus lauded the security situation in Iraq as “greatly improved,” saying that violence had dropped but serious threats remain.
Yet while the narrative of the improving situation in Iraq is a very popular one, Iraqi civilian deaths actually jumped dramatically over the past month, with 211 civilians killed in February alone, up from 135 in January.
In addition to the civilian deaths, Iraqi ministers say that 141 members of the nation’s security forces were killed, also a major increase over the previous month. Civilian violence mostly centered around Shi’ite pilgrims and Iraq’s small Christian minority.
Violence is expected to continue to rise this month, as militant groups look to disrupt next weekend’s parliament election. Once the election is over, officials are predicting another surge in violence as the various factions bicker over the formation of a coalition government.
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milo
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:39 pm
it seems awefully hypocritical, that not only the US, but also the United Nations on the ground continuously report improvements, and gloss over, even intentionally do not remark on the reality of more drastic recent developments (a good friend taking part in a governmental organization, was not only outraged to hear UN-spokespeople, trying to defend the organization's stance, with sounds of bombings in the background, but mostly horrified at the security risks that everyone involved is being forced into). as far as I can tell, the only logical tactic behind such announcements, would favor a rapid departure from the country. …-?
Eric Siverson
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:40 pm
How many murders in Chicago last month or maybe 1/3 of United States with no war going on that we admit too ?