[antimedia] antimedia: Today's Iraq Report

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Posted by antimedia:
Today's Iraq Report
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1154665402.shtml


   What's going on in Iraq? The media says it's a civil war, that we're
   losing, that the Iraqi troops aren't capable of providing their
   country's security, that the situation is hopeless.
   The facts on the ground are a bit different.
   [1]ANA OFFICERS GRADUTE NEW COURSE, TAKE NEW SKILLS TO THE FIELD
   [2]AIRMEN PROVIDE KEY SUPPORT TO MND-B SOLDIERS DURING FIREFIGHT IN
   MUSSAYIB
   [3]MND-B SOLDIERS CAPTURE 4 SUSPECTED KIDNAPPERS
   [4]IA SOLDIERS CAPTURE 4 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS, FIND WEAPONS
   [5]4TH BN, 320TH FA REGT SOLDIERS, MEET IRAQI SECURITY LEADERS IN
   ZAFARANIYA
   [6]MND-B SOLDIERS FIND WEAPONS CACHE
   [7]3RD BN, 67TH AR CAPTURES KIDNAPPERS
   [8]IA, MND-B SOLDIERS CAPTURE HIGH-VALUE TERRORIST IN EAST BAGHDAD
   [9]IA, MND-B SOLDIERS DETAIN THREE SUSPECTED TERROISTS
   [10]IRAQI AND COALITION FORCES SEARCH AL ANBAR UNIVERSITY IN RESPONSE
   TO INSURGENT ACTIVITY
   [11]IRAQI FORCES TARGET' DEATH SQUAD' ACTIVITIES IN FOUR BAGHDAD
   OPERATIONS
   [12]IRAQI ARMY SEARCHED FOR KIDNAPPERS
   [13]IA, MND-B SOLDIERS SEIZE WEAPONS CACHE
   [14]IA SOLDIERS CAPTURE 4 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS, FIND WEAPONS
   [15]MND-B SOLDIERS CAPTURE 4 SUSPECTED KIDNAPPERS
   [16]IRAQI NATIONAL POLICE, MND-B SOLDIERS CAPTURE 8 TERRORISTS,
   WEAPONS, ANTI-IRAQI PROPAGANDA
   [17]EXTREMISTS ATTACK GIRL'S SCHOOL, VILLAGERS RETURN FIRE
   [18]COALITION FORCES DETAIN TERRORIST, TWO OTHERS NEAR TIKRIT
   [19]COALITION FORCES CAPTURE FIVE TERRORISTS
   These are Centcom headlines from the first three days of August.
   In addition to that, the monthly [20]Iraq Index is out. For the fourth
   month in a row, coalition deaths are down - from a high of 82 in April
   to 48 in July. IEDs are still the number one cause of death.
   Iraqi deaths were [21]the highest since those deaths have been
   separately recorded -- 1275 in July (41 a day!), with 108 already in
   the first three days of August. (The UN puts the civilian death toll
   alone at 3125 in July, however they are combining the hospitals'
   figures with morgue figures.) Obviously that trend has to change. Only
   215 of those killed were Iraqi security forces (police and military),
   revealing that civilians are suffering the brunt of the "death squad"
   attacks, as extremist elements from both Shia and Sunni groups exact
   vengeance on their foes.
   Although assassinations capture the headlines, the number one killer
   of civilians by far, in the past five months, is bombs. The number of
   deaths caused by terrorists is estimated to be 55% of the total.
   The report appends a sobering note to the civilian death figures.
   "NOTE ON IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED TABLE: It is no longer practical to
   differentiate between crime-related deaths and war-related deaths, as
   the nature of the conflict has blurred the distinction between these
   categories."
   The Iraq Index now puts the total Iraqi civilian death toll from all
   causes since the war started at 48,100 to 98,200 (perhaps 0.35% of the
   estimated Iraqi population.)
   The number of "insurgents" killed or detained jumped 25% in May and
   June over previous months, giving an indication of the effectiveness
   of efforts to suppress the violence. The number of people in prison
   almost doubled during the same time period.
   Almost 53% of the total attacks in Iraq occur in Baghdad and Al Anbar
   province, 28% in Baghdad alone. In fourteen of the eighteen provinces
   there are almost no attacks at all. In four provinces there were no
   attacks at all in July.
   EOD specialists are improving. They're now disarming 45% of the IEDs
   (both detected or exploded.)
   Total Iraqi security force strength is now at 98.9% of the stated
   goal, with 269,600 members deployed. 64% of those forces are operating
   either in the lead, with coalition advisors supporting them, or fully
   independent. Iraqi forces are now responsible for securing 60% of the
   country without coalition support.
   Fuel supplies and oil exports still lag behind stated goals.
   Electricity production is higher than at any time in Iraqi history,
   and Baghdadis now have electricity almost half the time (11.8
   hours/day.)GDP, real GDP growth rate and per capita GDP are all up,
   and inflation is down. There are 8.2 times as many telephone
   subscribers and 46 times as many internet subscribers today as there
   were before the war. Car ownership has more than doubled, contributing
   to long waits for gas.
   In a July poll, 41% of Iraqis said the country was headed in the right
   direction with 34% disagreeing, with the bad security situation being
   the number one reason for disagreeing. The percentage of Iraqis who
   think things will be better in six months has decreased about 25%
   since the sectarian violence erupted. 55% of Iraqis think Prime
   Minister Maliki is doing a good job, and 58% are either somewhat
   confident or very confident in their new government. 59% of Iraqis say
   the economy is poor and 75% say the security situation is poor. 65%
   believe there is either "some" or "a lot" of corruption in the
   government. 78% of Iraqis do not want the country divided along
   sectarian lines with 66% "strongly" oppposed to such a division. The
   Kurdish area of Iraq, however, was almost the opposite, the only area
   not opposed to a breakup.
   Those are the facts, as the Brookings Institution sees them. Draw your
   own conclusions.

References

   Visible links
   1. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3539
   2. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3540
   3. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3541
   4. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3542
   5. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3543
   6. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3544
   7. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3545
   8. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3546
   9. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3548
  10. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3532
  11. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3533
  12. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3534
  13. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3535
  14. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3536
  15. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3537
  16. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3538
  17. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3520
  18. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3521
  19. http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/Lists/Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=3522
  20. http://www.brookings.org/iraqindex
  21. http://icasualties.org/oif/

   Hidden links:
  22. file://localhost/files/IraqiPoll.jpg