In the newsroom: U.S. deaths in Iraq at all-time low
Published: April 3, 2009
Here's a round-up of what we're following:
** Good news coming out of Iraq, at least from the grim statistics angle: The number of US troops killed by hostile action in Iraq fell in March to the lowest level since the 2003 invasion. Nine servicemembers died last month. I'm pretty confident our readers would love to see that number drop to zero next month.
** Plenty of news stories today are calling President Obama's work at the G-20 summit an all-around success, highlighting the new pact with Russia and international commitment for more emergency aid. It'll be interesting to see if any of that momentum carries over to the NATO conference today.
Right now the U.S. has plans to build up troop levels in Afghanistan to more than 60,000 servicemembers, with another 10,000 likely on the way next year. The other NATO countries have only 32,000 combined, and some countries like Germany and Spain won't send any to the fight in the south. And as Joe noted in the comments yesterday, plenty of people feel like NATO needs to shoulder more of that burden.
** Roadside bombs cause 75% of casualties to coalition forces in Afghanistan. I wrote a few weeks ago about the push for lighter MRAPs, and earlier this week Gen. Petraeus said officials are trying to field those new vehicles even quicker.
** And don't forget to keep watching the skies this weekend for any new sights, courtesy of North Korea.
