To those that say we are making progress in Iraq: Here is the response: the deaths haven't declined, the injuries have increased. That is the truth.
New York Times
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Dec. 31 - At least 844 American service members were killed in Iraq in 2005, nearly matching 2004's total of 848, and the number of service members wounded in 2005 was significantly higher than in the previous year, according to information released by the United States government and a nonprofit organization that tracks casualties in Iraq.
In 2005, the number of Americans wounded in Iraq, 9,157, exceeded the number wounded in 2004, when the total was 7,956.
The deaths of two Americans announced by the United States military on Friday - a marine killed by gunfire in Falluja and a soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad - brought the total killed since the war in Iraq began in March 2003 to 2,178. The total wounded since the war began is 15,955.
More, including the military spin, below.
The military says don't let the numbers of killed and wounded fool you:
Although the number of attacks against American and Iraqi forces in and around Baghdad has grown over the past year - to about 28 per day now from about 22 a year ago - only about 10 percent of those attacks inflict casualties, said Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., the commander of American forces in and around Baghdad. A year ago, about 25 percent of attacks inflicted casualties.
Or to put it differently, there are more attacks and they are deadlier.
Not to be forgotten, over 30,000 Iraqi civilians have died. God knows, how many wounded.
The numbers for American casualties comes from Iraq Coalition Casualty Count