Combat fatalities in Iraq down 83 percent

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Defense Department data say combat-related U.S. casualties in Iraq in December 2007 were down nearly 83 percent from the same time the in 2006.

The analysis conducted by Cybercast News Service used casualty reports from the Defense Department. Their study found 82 U.S. military personnel died from combat-related events involving enemy fire in December 2006, but found only 14 such combat-fatalities in December 2007, CNSNews said Wednesday.

The Washington-based conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation hosted a forum with U.S. officials and security analysts who credited the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, with developing an effective counter-insurgency strategy improving the security situation in Iraq.

Mark Kimmit, a Defense Department official for Middle East Affairs, said policymakers in Washington were pessimistic about the troop surge and the new counterinsurgent strategy, but said coordinating national and grass-roots efforts was integral to continued developments.

"The challenge for 2008 will be to link up these local efforts to the central government in a way that strengthens the latter while preserving the maximum space for local initiative," Kimmit said.