Reply #3: Of course things are not calming down

[markses]

There have been 104 US deaths since the "turnover" of power to Allawi's comprador faction. Moreover, the 100 deaths in July and August 2004 represents an increase of 22% over the same period in 2003 (82) - and August isn't even over yet by a longshot! The notion that things have calmed down is contradicted by the facts on all counts. The Shia are in revolt again, the so-called Sunni Triangle is not at all pacified, and still produces a large number of US KIAs weekly, and oil exportation in the south has been severely hampered. Moreover, August has been the THIRD deadliest month for our coalition partners, bested by only March 2003 and November 2003 - the first being the first month of the war and the second being the month when many Italian troops were killed by a massive car bombing in Nassiriya. Calmer? Meanwhile, car bombings continue across Iraq, the Iraqi Conference and US Embassy compound are hit by increasingly accurate and increasingly frequent mortar fire, truckers refuse to transport goods over the insurgent-controlled Iraqi road system, and even the representatives of Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani suggest that the American forces are no longer required in Iraq. By what standard are things calmer now than they were in May and June?