Glenn Kutler, who authors the weekly Casualties
Trends Since The Fall of Baghdad page on our site, has published three
articles with Orbis.
They have kindly granted us permission to reprint the articles.
U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq: A Perspective on Year 5(PDF)
Glenn Kutler
Abstract: President Bush’s surge strategy intends to use the might of the U.S. military to establish secure conditions in Iraq under which the promise of political progress will be realized. The U.S. military used this approach in the past when the U.S. Fallujah Offensive of late 2004 established security for the Iraqi Election Cycle in 2005. But the promise of political progress for insurgents was not fulfilled and they resorted to extreme levels of violence in response, killing 1,079 U.S. troops from September 2006 through September 2007, more than in any other comparable 12 month period. During the second half of Year 5, from September 2007 through the fifth anniversary of the war on March 19, 2008, U.S. forces in cooperation with Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias helped improve security conditions once again. But unless the surge’s promise of political progress is fulfilled, the patience of the insurgents and militias will dissipate and violence will increase once again in Year 6.
U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq: A Four-Year Retrospective (PDF)
Glenn Kutler
Abstract: As year five begins, the prospects for a successful conclusion of the
Iraq war – one that would repair the deep seated and deadly animosities throughout
civil society, establish a foundation for a sustainable democratic government, and
stop the inexorable climbof U.S. fatalities above 3,000 and of total casualties
toward 30,000 and beyond - are remote. The U.S. is embroiled in a conflict in three
dimensions, military political and civil, that defies solution. Our military and
its leaders have tended to underestimate the enemy and engage it halfheartedly,
while the insurgents have retained freedom of action and repeatedly seized the initiative.
The fourth dimension, the battle for Iraqi hearts and minds, essential for bringing
hostilities to an end, has not even begun.
Reprinted From
Orbis,
Copyright 2007, with permission from the Foreign Policy Research Institute
U.S.
Military Fatalities in Iraq: A Three-Year Retrospective
(PDF)
By Glenn Kutler
Abstract: With year four of the Iraq War under way,
this article focuses on the sources, patterns, and effects of fatalities. It
shows how trends in fatalities correlate with nine distinct phases since the
war’s inception and analyzes in detail the last two, which prevailed during
year 3, ending March 19, 2006: the Iraqi election cycle (which encompassed the
election of the National Assembly, establishment of the transnational
government, drafting of the Constitution, approval of the Constitution, and the
election of parliament) and the start of U.S. efforts to disengage from the
conflict. U.S. intentions to scale down its involvement while increasing Iraqi
self-sufficiency have been hampered by the persistence of fatalities inflicted
by the insurgency, which bifurcated its efforts during year 3, matching
hostilities toward U.S. troops with organized civil strife involving Iraqis.
Ultimately, only the Iraqi people and their new government can defeat the
insurgency and bring U.S. involvement in the war to an end.
Reprinted From
Orbis,
Volume 50, Number 3, Glenn Kutler, U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq: Year 3,
Pages 559-572, Copyright 2006, with permission from the Foreign Policy Research
Institute
U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq: A Two-Year Retrospective
(PDF)
By Glenn Kutler
After two years of war in Iraq, the United States has suffered
more than 13,000 casualties—11,500 wounded and 1,500 dead. This article
presents a retrospective of U.S. casualties and surrounding events, focusing on
fatalities,1 from the inception of the war through its second anniversary on
March 19, 2005. It also analyzes how these fatalities influenced the 2004
presidential election, the results of which indicate that increasing public
awareness of and identification with fatalities has the potential of turning
the hearts and minds of voters against the president and reducing his ability
to achieve his policy goals...
Reprinted From
Orbis,
Volume 49, Number 3, Glenn Kutler, U.S. Military Fatalities in Iraq: A Two Year
Retrospective, Pages 529-544, Copyright 2005, with permission from the Foreign
Policy Research Institute
