- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
death toll for American troops in Iraq rose in May to the highest level
since January, with the U.S. military saying on Tuesday insurgents have
doubled their number of daily attacks since April.
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- This latest spree of violence by insurgents, who rose
up after the American-led invasion in 2003 toppled President Saddam Hussein,
put a dramatic end to a period when attacks on U.S. forces had waned after
the historic Jan. 30 elections.
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- At least 77 U.S. troops were killed in May, according
to a count of deaths announced by the military. That is the highest toll
since 107 Americans were killed in January. It marked the second straight
monthly increase since 36 U.S. troops died in March, among the lowest tolls
of the war.
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- Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad,
said insurgents are staging about 70 attacks nationwide per day.
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- "There was a lull in attacks after the elections,"
Boylan said.
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- "There was a period of time right after the election
until the beginning of April or middle of April that we actually saw them
(daily rebel attacks) dip into the low 30s."
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- The latest Pentagon figures listed 1,658 U.S. military
deaths since the war began, with another 12,630 wounded in combat. The
United States has 139,000 troops in Iraq, with another 23,000 British and
other foreign soldiers.
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- In the recent spike in violence, insurgents also have
aggressively targeted Iraqi security forces and civilians. Boylan said
more than 600 Iraqis were killed or wounded in May.
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- Boylan attributed the rise in U.S. deaths in May to several
factors.
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- May was a record month for car bombs used by insurgents
in suicide attacks and with remote-controlled detonations, he said. Boylan
added U.S. forces suffered losses in offensives against the rebels such
as Operation New Market in the western town of Haditha and Operation Matador
around the western town of Qaim, close to the Syrian border.
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- 'DON'T KNOW'
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- Asked if the insurgents, a mix of indigenous Sunni Muslim
Arabs and foreign radical Islamic fighters, could sustain the current level
of violence, Boylan said, "Don't know yet."
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- Defense analysts said the recent violence was the latest
evidence Iraq remains an uncertain project for America.
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- "Those who believed that the elections would be
a decisive turning point undermining the insurgency are disappointed yet
again," Cato Institute defense analyst Ted Carpenter said. "The
insurgency seems as capable as ever."
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- U.S. generals in the weeks after the election had talked
about a possible serious reduction in U.S. troop levels next year.
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- Gen. George Casey, top U.S. commander in Iraq, has not
completed his assessment of future troop levels, Boylan said, adding that
the level of violence and the capabilities of U.S.-trained Iraqi security
forces would be crucial factors.
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- "The reality is we have discovered, despite all
our propaganda, that we are facing a very tough, resilient and smart adversary,"
defense analyst Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute said.
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- Goure said rebels have continuously changed, updated
and modified tactics, dumping those that no longer worked. Goure also faulted
U.S. forces for being slow to cut off the supply of bullets, bombs, money
and recruits coming over the border from Syria.
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- "I think we are in there at least for the next five
years in significant numbers," Goure said.
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- Boylan preached patience.
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- "This is the hardest type of fight to be in,"
Boylan said. "If we get too impatient and decide to throw in the towel
too soon, then we give up everything we've gained up to this point."
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- http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N31661115.htm
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