Iraq: Tallies of the dead since the surge

AP reports that civilian deaths in Baghdad are way down since the surge began.

Figures compiled by the AP from Iraqi police reports show that 1,586 civilians were killed in Baghdad between the start of the offensive and Thursday.

That represents a sharp drop from the 2,871 civilians who died violently in the capital during the two months that preceded the security crackdown.

Outside the capital, 1,504 civilians were killed between Feb. 14 and Thursday and 1,009 were killed during the two previous months, the AP figures show.

In addition, deaths to US military forces are up substantially.

War supporters are painting this as good news in the sense that ALL of the news is not bad. However, I'm hard pressed to find any examples of real good news in Iraq recently. Over 3,000 civilians have died since the surge began. I would call that only somewhat less catastrophic.