Myths On Iraq

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As seen through a night-viewing device, U.S. Army Sgt. John Butler points during a leaflet-drop mission over the Sadr City district of Baghdad, Oct. 2, 2008. Butler is a member the 11th Psychological Operation Task Force. U.S. Army photo

In Today’s Iraq, the Times Are Constantly Changing
-- Pajamas Media

Whatever your views of the War in Iraq, if they are based on information more than six months old they are probably outdated. Much has changed just since March when Iraqi Army forces successfully attacked Shia extremists in Basra and the Sadr City section of Baghdad. I arrived in Baghdad while those operations were underway and having just returned home, would like to compare some old truths with the new reality in Iraq.

Old Truth: Iraq is in the midst of a civil war

Ethno-sectarian violence (ESV) — defined as the deliberate targeting of victims from one ethnic or sectarian group by a different group — was at its height in late 2006 when there were as many as 2,000 sectarian killings every month. In Baghdad alone there were fifty such murders a day. Since then, ESV killings have plummeted. The surge alone was responsible for significant success in reducing these murders. From an average of about a thousand a month during the spring and summer of 2007 when the surge began, ESV killings fell to about 200 a month during late 2007 and early 2008. Since May the number of deaths has fallen again, averaging fewer than 50 a month for the last four months. The new reality is, that if Iraq was ever in a civil war between its different ethnic and sectarian factions, it isn’t now.

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My Comment: Iraq has been changing at a rapid pace this year. One can only imagine the economic pace that would change once peace is fully attained.