Is this good news or careful orchestrated for the benefit of the Congress and the media?


BAGHDAD - The U.S. second-in-command in Iraq said Thursday that violence was down in Baghdad following the seven-month security operation in Baghdad, but that too many civilians are still dying.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno told reporters that car bombs and suicide attacks in Baghdad have fallen to their lowest levels in a year, and civilian casualties have dropped from a high of about 32 to 12 per day. He also said violence in Baghdad had decreased 50 percent.

But he did not provide more specific timeframes.

"What we do know is that there has been a decline in civilian casualties, but I would say again that it's not at the level we want it to be," Odierno said. "There are still way too many civilian casualties inside of Baghdad and Iraq."


LINK


My only question now is why did not Patraeus give these stats in his little pep talk?

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno told reporters that car bombs and suicide attacks in Baghdad have fallen to their lowest levels in a year, and civilian casualties have dropped from a high of about 32 to 12 per day. He also said violence in Baghdad had decreased 50 percent.

Governmment figures are BS.

Have you noticed that all the reports that have been delivered by Bush Boyz and none say the same things, other than Anbar is a success and the surge is working. Gullible aren't we?

To tell ya the truth I didn't pay much attention to these "reports". They were too biased to take seriously.

They for the most part were biased, but the GAO was pretty damning but it was not reported much.

The GAO reports are always swept aside because they never seem to be what the govermment wants the voters to know, not only on this issue but other issues as well.

I agree, but why is there report less accurate then say the general's? And watch whenever there is a damning report, something else happens in the world to lessen the impact. Maybe Rather is right. The media is just a stooge of the government. Looks like Gramsci back in the 1920's was right whern he predicted that the media would control the people's lives.

This could possibly good news, it will depend on how it is handled.


BAGHDAD --
Two of Iraq's most powerful Shiite leaders agreed on Saturday to end a bitter rivalry in a bid to end months of armed clashes and assassinations in the oil-rich south that have threatened to spread into a wider conflict.

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the largest Shiite political party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, promised to stop the bloodshed and enhance cooperation between their two movements.


LINK

And then there is Baghdad.


AGHDAD, Oct. 6 -- Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia planned and carried out a bloody attack on two of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in the southern city of Karbala in late August, violence that exposed deep divisions within the Shiite community, according to documents, police and lawmakers involved in investigating the violence.

The fallout from the attack could further splinter Iraq's ruling political alliance and diminish U.S. prospects for bringing stability to Iraq. It also raises troubling questions about the complicity of Iraqi officials with violent militiamen.

The street fighting that broke out in Karbala on Aug. 28 demonstrated that while an escalation of U.S. troops has lessened violence in Baghdad and western Iraq, another conflict is brewing in the south. With British soldiers accelerating their departure from the region, the south is emerging as one of the most vulnerable regions of Iraq.


LINK

With British soldiers accelerating their departure from the region, the south is emerging as one of the most vulnerable regions of Iraq.

Just as I expected really. The area isn't secure enough to let the Iraqi's take over, yet the Brits pulled out. What do thet expect?

I would say the Brits are smarter thsan the Pres. At least they know when to say enough and get the hell out.

Well, a well formed rock would be smarter than Bush. I don't blame them for leaving. It's not their fight and being lured there under false pretences is as good a reason as any to get out of Dodge.

Is the US writing off southern Iraq?


U.S. military officers in Iraq often wonder about the possible presence of Iranian operatives in cities south of Baghdad like Karbala and Najaf, two key strongholds for Shi'ite militias thought to have links to Tehran. Many soldiers believe those two cities, home to more than 1.5 million people altogether, are where Shi'ite militants gather, train and arm themselves with help from Iran for attacks against U.S. forces farther north. Some intelligence even suggests that Iran's elite military force, the Revolutionary Guard, has opened training camps in the area for Iraqi guerrillas. But getting a clear picture of the happenings there and in other cities in that region is hard for one simple reason: U.S. troops don't go there anymore.


LINK