Zero deaths in Iraq. Thank you George Bush.

Midknight Review - new and revised has this to say: a wonderful story to begin the new year. A total of 3477 have been killed in Iraq during the time since 3/19/03 and the beginning of that war. This is the lowest percentage of fatalities in the history of war. You need to understand that we have been in that country for nearly 7 years; more than 1.5 million military personal have been moved in and out of Iraq during that time. Less than 80 soldiers have died this year, 2009. The war was actually won in 2008 as the result of the surge. While most of us wish the surge had come quicker, it remains a fact that we are now in transition in Iraq, much as we were in the Pacific Theater and Japan after WWII where we lost some 12,000 troops during the 15 years we "occupied" Japan following their surrender. What is most troubling, now, is the fact that the Woodstock anti-war Marxist crowd is now running the war in both countries. They know nothing of how to fight nor do they appreciate the need to wage war. As a result, there is the temptation of their part (Obama included) to surrender our missile defenses and trust the Russians to decrease their nuclear arsenal. Both of these scenario's are being played out as we write. Obama talks tough but the enemy knows he does not have the heart for war nor does he have the Party support for same. When you announce build-up tied to a time table, you play into the enemies hand. All al-Qaeda has to do to win this war is to "lay low" for 24 months, wait for us to "declare victory" and leave - then the country is theirs without a fight. This is the very type of thing that happened in Viet Nam . . . . same crowd wound up running that show, as well. Gees.
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Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- December was the first month since the beginning of the Iraq war in which there were no U.S. combat deaths, the U.S. military reported. There were three noncombat fatalities.

"That is a very significant milestone for us as we continue to move forward, and I think that also speaks to the level of violence and how it has decreased over time," said Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Since the beginning of the war more than six years ago, 4,373 U.S. military members have died -- 3,477 from hostilities and 898 in non-combat incidents.

Combat fatalities have decreased significantly since June, when the United States started withdrawing troops from Baghdad, Iraq's capital, and other urban areas. The United States also started a troop drawdown in 2009 from about 160,000 to the current level of around 110,000.

The U.S. military suffered double-digit combat-related deaths in February, April, May and June 2009. The highest was 17 in May. There were also eight non-combat deaths in May, making for the highest monthly total in 2009.