Insurgent attacks against U.S. troops decline
Militants increasingly putting Iraqi forces in crosshairs

The Associated Press
Updated: 8:16 p.m. ET March 30, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgent attacks in Iraq have fallen dramatically since the Jan. 30 elections, and the number of U.S. deaths reported this month dropped to the lowest in a year.

Both U.S. and Iraqi officials agree that attacks overall have fallen since the Jan. 30 elections, although it is unclear if the trend is just a temporary lull as militants change tactics, or a sign that the insurgency is weakening.

Michael O’Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, which has been tracking the insurgency, said attacks against U.S. forces have dropped by at least 25 percent since last fall, when U.S. officials launched a major offensive against the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. Attacks then ranged from 80 to 90 a day, O’Hanlon said.

However, attacks still haven’t fallen below the level of a year ago — between 10 to 20 a day, according to a Defense Department document dated July 2004.



OK. I will guess that the terrorists have lost so many men and assets that they can not longer operate at previous levels. Just a guess. If the rate of attacks continues to decline for the next few months, then I will be proven right. If the rate of attacks has a resurgence, then I will be proven wrong.