Iraqi Army Asserting Control

The scene of a car bomb placed in a car park in Baghdad on September 29. The number of Iraqi civilians and security personnel killed in insurgent and militia violence in September was 440, little changed from August, security officials said on Wednesday. (AFP/Ali Yussef)

Iraq Forces Gain More Control, But Lose More Lives
-- Yahoo News/AP

BAGHDAD - The number of Iraqi security forces killed in September rose by nearly a third to 159 compared with the same period last year, Associated Press figures showed Tuesday. U.S. troop deaths for the same period fell by nearly 40 percent to 25.

The figures are a sign that U.S. military is increasingly relying on the Iraqis, including U.S.-allied Sunni fighters, to take the lead in operations so they can assume responsibility for their own security and let the Americans eventually withdraw.

Overall civilian casualty figures remained relatively low despite a spate of deadly attacks in Baghdad and surrounding areas during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which ends Tuesday for Sunnis and Thursday for most Shiites.

But even as Iraqi security forces are taking the lead and violence in the country has plunged some 80 percent over the past 15 months, cautious Pentagon leaders have resisted calls for more rapid and hefty troop pullouts. Instead, top commanders insist the security situation remains fragile, and the improvements reversible.

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My Comment:The AP fails to mention that of the 25 American soldiers who died in Iraq, 17 were from accidents or natural causes. But having said that, Iraqi forces are the ones who are going to assert control over the country, and as they confront militias and Al Qaeda leftovers their casualties are going to rise .... but so will the enemy.