Surging forward

It will be tragic if all the effort has been too late:

Iraq's civilian body count in October was less than half that at its height in January, reflecting both the tactical successes of this year's U.S. troop buildup and the lasting impact of waves of sectarian death squad killings, car bombings and neighborhood purges.

October also marked the lowest monthly death toll for American troops, 36 fatalities, since March 2006, when 31 were killed, according to icasualties.org.

American commanders credit the buildup, which reached full strength in June, with slowing sectarian bloodshed.

[...]

American military leaders say that Iraq and its capital, where much of the sectarian violence has taken place, are significantly safer than during the height of Shiite-Sunni warfare last year -- although even at its reduced level, the violence takes a toll of nearly 200 deaths a week...

More from Ed Morrissey with a nice graph. Meanwhile, from the halls of Foggy Bottom...

Mark C.

Update: A leader in The Times picks up the story:

The Petraeus Curve

Serious success in Iraq is not being recognised as it should be

Posted by markc at November 3, 2007 10:36 AM