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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Friday, March 31, 2006

Now is it a civil war?

If the Iraqis are no longer attacking US troops at the same level, but are now attacking each other, can we call it a civil war?
BAGHDAD, March 31 -- March was the least deadly month in more than two years for U.S. troops in Iraq, but a surge in killings of Iraqi troops and civilians suggests that the overall death rate in the conflict is growing, according to military data.....

But recent weeks have also been among the most lethal of the war for Iraqi civilians, police officers and soldiers, who were killed and wounded at a rate of about 75 a day, a rate three times as high as at the start of 2004.

posted by mikevotes at 10:10 PM

6 Comments:

  • yes we can and we should. nice work. you always seem to catch great stories.

    By Blogger Graeme, at 1:26 AM  

  • Thanks.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 6:13 AM  

  • There's nothing civil about this war, least of all the way this administration has flogged it, both in Iraq and here in the once-free U.S. of A.

    By Blogger -epm, at 7:48 AM  

  • Here's my prediction for how Pumpkinhead Russert and The Beard cover this tomorrow:

    U.S casualties are falling dramatically to their lowest levels in more than two years. Does this mean the U.S. military is turning things around in Iraq and if so, will Preznit Bush's poll numbers rise as a result?"

    Oh yes, I can hear The Beard getting that self-important tone of his voice just so while he reads those words off the teleprompter and I can see the smug look on Pumpkihhead's well-fed face as he gleefully takes dictation from the Karl Rove ear piece he seems to wear every time he gets on TV.

    As Atrios says, our liberal media at work.

    By Blogger Reality-Based Educator, at 1:03 PM  

  • Does a 'civil war' need to be declared to be official? I'm not sure of the rules here. Of course what we are witnessing doesn't seem to be particularity civil, but then words have different meanings.
    I expect the program to install an American style ‘democracy’ should be considered a failure. But then again, perhaps, depending on definitions, the program is actually a roaring success.
    Best wait and hear what Rove tells George to call it. You can be sure that will be far more palatable than civil war.

    By Blogger Cartledge, at 2:07 PM  

  • epm, good point.

    reality-based, I've been waiting for an interpretation along those lines for the last week or so from somebody. Cause, after all, according to matthews, russert, et al, George Bush is just such a likable guy.

    And, Cartledge, the violence has gone from "civil war" to "sectarian violence" to "sectarian strife" to "sectarian tensions" in the US media over the last month. The language police are active.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 3:00 PM  

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