Thread: US Troop Deaths: Lowest Since the Invasion of Iraq

Well, this is really good news. Check it out.

Iraq hits milestones on U.S. troop deaths and oil

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troop deaths in Iraq fell to their lowest level last month since the 2003 invasion and officials said on Sunday improved security also helped the country boost oil production in May to a post-war high.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Iraq's oil minister credited better security for the two milestones, which illustrated a dramatic turnabout in the fortunes of a country on the brink of all-out sectarian civil war just 12 months ago.

"We've still got a distance to go but I think lower casualty rates are a reflection of some real progress," Gates told reporters in Singapore. "The key will be to continue to sustain the progress we have seen."

American generals have stressed that the security gains are both fragile and reversible. That was shown in March, when an Iraqi government offensive against Shi'ite militias in southern Basra sparked a surge in violence in the capital and other cities, catching U.S. and Iraqi officials off guard.

The U.S. military said 19 soldiers died in May, the lowest monthly death toll in a five-year-old war that has so far claimed the lives of more than 4,000 American soldiers.

Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told Reuters in an interview that the improved security had helped Iraq, which has the world's third-largest oil reserves, raise oil production to a post-war high of 2.5 million barrels per day in May.

Iraq's oil industry, hit by decades of sanctions, war and neglect, was a vulnerable target for saboteurs after the U.S. invasion. Attacks on pipelines quickly destroyed any hopes of using Iraq's vast oil reserves to fund its reconstruction.

The military says violence in Iraq is now at a four-year low following crackdowns by U.S. and Iraqi forces on Shi'ite militias in southern Basra and Baghdad and on al Qaeda in the northern city of Mosul, its last major urban stronghold.

"In May we have exceeded for the first time a 2 million barrels per day export rate. In production we have exceeded 2.5 million bpd," Shahristani said.

The number of Iraqi civilians killed in May also fell, to 505, after reaching a seven-month high of 968 in April, figures compiled by the interior, defense and health ministries showed.

Iraq hits milestones on U.S. troop deaths and oil - Yahoo! News

Wow, our troops are to be commended greatly for their efforts. Well done!

Barack Obama will eat his own words soon enough.

Twenty-five minutes and nothing? Wow.

Meanwhile the suicide rate for U.S. troops is the highest in recorded history.

Glad to see we're almost back to square one in Iraq.

Originally Posted by C-101

Twenty-five minutes and nothing? Wow.

They're watching "Friends" re-runs.

Originally Posted by Defensor

Meanwhile the suicide rate for U.S. troops is the highest in recorded history.

Glad to see we're almost back to square one in Iraq.

Yet, despite that, deaths are the lowest ever.

Always trying to put a negative spin on everything good about Iraq, Defensor.

Give our troops the credit they deserve.

Originally Posted by C-101

Yet, despite that, deaths are the lowest ever.

Always trying to put a negative spin on everything good about Iraq, Defensor.

Give our troops the credit they deserve.

Too bad for you that bush will never get the credit he doesn't deserve!

Good thread & good news C-101.
Even though Nancy Pelosi says that the reason the surge is working is due to "the goodwill of the Iranians". What a POS she is.

Originally Posted by TurnBackTheClock

Too bad for you that bush will never get the credit he doesn't deserve!

He's the one that initiated the surge strategy, twisted the democrats' arms for funding, and appointed Gen. Petraeus. Therefore, he deserves credit as well.

However, the majority of credit goes to our troops, because they actually executed the strategy and made it successful to this day.

I don't post these things because I love Bush to death or anything; but rather because I love to see America winning!

Originally Posted by C-101

Barack Obama will eat his own words soon enough.

I doubt it. I'm sure he'll figure out a way to sabotage their success and then blame the failure of Iraq on the troops themselves the way John Kerry and Dick Durban have tried to do.

Originally Posted by Defensor

Meanwhile the suicide rate for U.S. troops is the highest in recorded history.

Glad to see we're almost back to square one in Iraq.

Classy shit right there.:flickoff: