Violence in Iraq Reaches 2003 Levels
Summer 2003 was the moment, roughly, when the insurgency in Iraq began to coalesce. (Naturally, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted no such thing was
Jul 31, 202099.5K Shares4.3M Views
Summer 2003 was the moment, roughly, when the insurgency in Iraq began to coalesce. (Naturally, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld insisted no such thing was happening.) Five and a half years later, violence in Iraq has dropped down to the levels of … the beginning of the insurgency. Maj. Gen. David Perkins, a top official with the U.S. military command in Iraq, explainsthat violence is down 90 percent since the surge began in January 2007, reaching levels not seen since August 2003.
This, however, is kind of an unfortunate way of putting things:
“„Perkins added that on Feb. 20, no Iraqi civilians were killed or even targeted in attacks.
“„“This is a very significant event, and we are seeing more and more days like that throughout Iraq,” he said.
If you were an Iraq, would you really want to hear an American general highlighting one day in six years of war that no civilians were targeted for murder? The Iraq war is a confusing and frustrating thing, and Perkins undoubtedly meant nothing by the statement, but that’s rather tin-earned.
Interestingly, Perkins added that the results of the provincial elections are being accepted by the losers, but NPR’s Corey Flintoff reportsthat members of the Iraqi Islamic Party — the recently-deposed party in Anbar Province — are being targeted for assassination, suggesting that the winnersare having a hard time settling for mere political victory.
Dexter Cooke
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Dexter Cooke is an economist, marketing strategist, and orthopedic surgeon with over 20 years of experience crafting compelling narratives that resonate worldwide.
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