19,000 insurgents killed in Iraq since '03

[sabra]

Source: USA Today

More than 19,000 militants have been killed in fighting with coalition forces since the insurgency began more than four years ago, according to military statistics released for the first time.

The statistics show that 4,882 militants were killed in clashes with coalition forces this year, a 25% increase over all of last year.

...

The statistics, provided at USA TODAY's request, were retrieved from a coalition database that tracks "significant acts." Militants are identified in the database because they are linked to "hostile action," said Capt. Michael Greenberger, a Freedom of Information Act officer in Baghdad. There is no way to independently verify the data.

"The information in the database is only as good as the information entered into it by operators on the ground at the time," Greenberger said. "Follow-up information to make corrections is done whenever possible."

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-09-26-insurgents_N.htm

[saigon68]

1. Another Load of Bullshit

[awoke_in_2003]

13. "Another Load of Bullshit"

no shit, that number seems low to me, too. I love it when the repukes I work with talk about insurgents. I ask them, "What if some foreign power occupied our country for the sole purpose of stealing our natural resources. What would you do to fight back?" Not one has ever answered my question yet. p.s. (I am a proud descendant of those insurgents that declared independence in 1776).

[angstlessk]

2. Definition of insurgent: any male between the age of 14-55 dead!

so we killed a bunch of men and boys in Iraq? Who knew?

[sinkingfeeling]

3. And how many of those were Iraqis? You know, the people Bush said we were there to help.

[hobbit709]

4. Remember when they said total number of insurgents was 5000?

This is like that scene in "Path To War" where Clark Clifford asks "According to these figures, we've killed 125% of the enemy General; how come they're still shooting at us?"

[Doctor_J]

5. that's one for every 25 civilians (give or take)

Success!

[sam sarrha]

7. the Lancet says nearly a million dead civilians, your number is only what tobacco kills a year in US

[Doctor_J]

19. Yes, I was going with 1/2 million dead civilians to give Cheney the

benefit of the doubt. Pessimistically the ratio is 1 to 50.

[sam sarrha]

20. i expected to get flamed for the tobacco comment, alright to kill smokers but not iraqi's

but it is accurate..

[robcon]

6. How do they know 'insurgents' from non-combatants?

convenient.

[hobbit709]

12. If they're dead, they're "insurgents"

[robcon]

17. good call, hobbit709

n/t

[formercia]

8. 18,995 were number two in the command structure.

What bullshit. :rofl:

[frylock]

9. if it runs, it's insurgent. if it doesn't run..

it's a well trained insurgent.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

10. 981,000

I guess that means 981,000 innocent Iraqi citizens have been murdered. Give or take 19,000.

[onehandle]

11. Mission Accomplished. Let's get the Hell out of there. nt

[SpikeTss]

14. Especially the child insurgents are very vicious

and only the air force can cope with them, as history proves:

http://www.warsaw-life.com/poland/warsaw-1944-uprising

What else than cynicism could be a reaction to this nonsense
propaganda the military is spreading again?
They are fascists.

[Barrett808]

15. But "we don't do body counts."

I guess that statement is no longer operative.

[ohio2007]

22. I still question the source

I don't think it was an official pentagon press release that the USA Today claims.
Just the same, from one of the graphs at the link;

#'s can be deceiving


Shows a surge in insurgents killed this year.

btw
Where are the civilians killed by
US forces vs "insurgent" forces ?

They say those would be horrific details that may top 1 million over the past four years.

[daleo]

16. About 4000 U.S./U.K. dead to 19,000 "insurgents"

Even if it is true, it isn't a good sign for a counter-insurgency.

[Doctor_J]

18. Good point - in Viet Nam our kill ratio was 34:1

and that was a loss. This is not a good sign

[ohio2007]

21. Nam saw an average of 5,800 GI's killed a year

over a ten year period.
after four years in Iraq, we will be in Iraq at least another six years
and beyond by hoe the democrats debated it.