Violence in Iraq drops sharply: Ministry

[Psephos]

Source: Reuters

By Aseel Kami

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Violence in Iraq has dropped by 70 percent since the end of June, when U.S. forces completed their build-up of 30,000 extra troops to stabilize the war-torn country, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry released the new figures as bomb blasts in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul killed five people and six gunmen died in clashes with police in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala south of the Iraqi capital.

<snip>

In Baghdad, considered the epicenter of the violence because of its mix of Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs, car bombs had decreased by 67 percent and roadside bombs by 40 percent, he said. There had also been a 28 percent decline in the number of bodies found dumped in the capital's streets. In Anbar, a former insurgent hotbed where Sunni Arab tribes have joined U.S. forces against al Qaeda, there has been an 82 percent drop in violent deaths.

<snip>

However, in the northern province of Nineveh, where many al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab militants fled to escape the crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding region, there had been a 129 percent rise in car bombings and a corresponding 114 percent increase in the number of people killed in violence. While the figures confirm U.S. data showing a positive trend in combating al Qaeda bombers, there is growing instability in southern Iraq, where rival Shi'ite factions are fighting for political dominance.

<snip>


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSCOL24813120071022?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

[bdamomma]

1. ethic cleansing?????????

[nightrider767]

2. Love the war or hate it,,

It's good news, assuming those numbers are accurate, that the violence is going down. Sometimes it seems as if we revel in Bush's disasters, and that's natural enough, as he is the anit-Christ. But let's face it, our Army's gonna be there for a while, so the less violence the better. Not to mention just as importantly, those Iraqi's who deserve a break more than Anyone.

So if those figures are accurate, let's hope that trend continues...

[Alcibiades]

3. Have we won yet?

I'm confused--is it the case that Iraq is on the verge of civil war, in which case we should stay so that we can be involved in an endless internecine bloodbath, or that the insurgency is in its last throes, in which case we should stay forever so that we can use it as a bas from which to invade Iran so that we can be involved a new endless internecine bloodbath?

[PSPS]

4. Could this be because blackwater has taken a lower profile?

I've always wondered how much of this chaos has been orchestrated by bush through his private storm troops.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Glad to hear it. I don't know what forces are at play, although I do

think we have considerably stepped up our airstrikes and raids lately--that may be a factor. Best case scenario is that this war just sort of fizzles out on its own, with not enough violence to justify a large military presence--maybe Congress can then start pushing for big troop reductions, and start pushing back against that "Korea"-style 50-year plan. My fear is that the whole chaos/genocide-prevention argument was overblown, and our troops are really just amassed there waiting to support a mission against Iran, and to keep the peace in Iraq when the Shia sympathizers go nuts. If they're going to strike Iran, they'd better do it quick while all our troops and supplies and equipment are in place in Iraq, and while the violence is down, right?

[Javaman]

6. Propaganda??? mmmmmmaybe....

http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/index.html