A Numerical History of the War in Iraq

US troop fatalities in Iraq have fallen from a high of 130 per month at the beginning of 2007 to 25 per month in mid-2008. At the same time, Iraqi civilian fatalities have fallen from a high of 3,700 per month at the beginning of 2007 to 500 per month in mid-2008.


This is partly a result of the "surge" and pacification of hostile neighborhoods as well as the steep increase of fighting Iraqi troops from 100,00 in 2004 to almost 500,000 by mid-2008.


With the al-Maliki government now pushing for a fixed time table to withdraw American troops it seems that the war in Iraq is coming to a conclusion. It will be hard for the Democrats to make hay of a fait accomplis during the election season, leaving the economy, energy, health care and possibly Russia, depending on its actions in Georgia and environs, the big issues in the 2008 Presidential election.