100+ Iraqis killed, 119 US troops dead...a spike or new surge constant?

[Thorgrim]

102+ Iraqis outside the military killed in 24 hours

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L29110390.htm
-Also the update from today says +30 bodies were found shot in Baghdad in that time-frame

This is 70+ in Baghdad alone, that's probably a surge record...we're basically in June on the surge and have 2 months before the big report, and we have 70 killed in Baghdad in just one day...and today isn't a special holiday, or new offensive...just a regular day

To give you some perspective, the US freaked out when 2 people a day were being killed in New York by violent gangs

Now we have 70...with a full military surge

That's some pretty depressing shit

Also, we hit 119 US soldiers killed in May, and the month isn't even over yet...but it's already the 3rd deadliest

To show the insurgents learning to beat the surge:

Sunni Arab guerrillas in Iraq ran a sophisticated sting on US troops in Diyala province on Memorial Day, killing 8 GIs. First, they shot down a helicopter with small arms fire. Two servicemen died in the crash. The guerrillas knew that a rescue team would come out to the site. So they planted a roadside bomb that killed the rescuers. And, they knew that yet another rescue team would come out to see what happened to the first. So they planted roadside bombs and destroyed the second team, as well. Altogether 6 rescuers were blown up in this way. The guerrillas run this routine on Iraqi police and troops in the capital all the time. As US troops increasingly take on policing duties, they become vulnerable to the same operations that have wrought such mayhem on Iraqi security forces.

Dr. Cole

Rescuers Ambushed At Crash

[thomez]

The fact that an amazing presence of US troops cannot secure Baghdad really bothers me, because securing the capital city to try and facilitate Sunni-Shia Congressional cooperation is really the cornerstone of the "surge". The situation is grim.

[Thorgrim]

Spc. David Williams, 22, of Boston, Mass., had two note cards in his pocket Wednesday afternoon as he waited for Sen. Joseph Lieberman. Williams serves in the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., the first of the five "surge" brigades to arrive in Iraq, and he was chosen to join the Independent from Connecticut for lunch at a U.S. field base in Baghdad.

The night before, 30 other soldiers crowded around him with questions for the senator.

He wrote them all down. At the top of his note card was the question he got from nearly every one of his fellow soldiers:

"When are we going to get out of here?"
...

The soldiers smiled and greeted him, stood with him for pictures and sat down to a lunch of roast beef and turkey sandwiches. It was unclear if they ever asked their questions....It isn't clear whether Williams mentioned the last line on his note card, the one that had a star next to it.

"We don't feel like we're making any progress," it said

Daily Kos: They Can Keep Him