Graphic source: Photo: Danfung Dennis/WPN.
Any casualties are regrettable but what can be stated positively is that U.S. casualties dropped last month.
The official U.S. troop death count in Iraq stands at 29, the third-lowest monthly casualty toll for the U.S. military since the American-led invasion in 2003. The count includes 3 non-combat deaths.
40 were killed in January, a year ago the count was 81. There has been a dramatic decrease in American troop deaths.
Although various criteria measuring violence confirms that there has been a downturn, Iraqi casualties increased which no doubt reflects the greater role that Iraqis are playing in reconstruction.
The three key factors which are widely credited with reducing violence in Iraq over the past six months are: an increase in U.S. troop levels; a cease-fire by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia; and the decision by tens of thousands of Sunni fighters to accept U.S. funding and turn against al-Qaida in Iraq.
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