It took eight years and five months, but the U.S. finally got through a month in Iraq without any soldiers dying.

 

There are about 48,000 personnel still in Iraq, but not a single one was killed in August, marking the first no-fatality month since the March 2003 invasion.

 

The death toll from the war and occupation stands at 4,474 American military personnel. Fifty-six of those deaths have occurred since President Barack Obama declared on August 31, 2010, that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq was finished.

 

The August milestone came as a surprise to military officials, considering that 15 troops were killed in July, making it the deadliest month for the U.S. in two years. It was also surprising that no one was killed in action considering the recent wave of suicide bombings and assassinations by Sunni insurgents that has killed hundreds of Iraqis.

 

American military commanders partly credit the Iraqi government’s efforts against Iran and the Shiite militias for creating a less dangerous climate for soldiers.

 

While August proved to be a month to celebrate in Iraq, the same 31-day period was the worst for U.S. forces in Afghanistan after almost 10 years of warfare. Sixty-six military personnel died there last month, surpassing the previous high mark of 65 in July 2010. Almost half of the August death toll was produced by the August 6 helicopter crash in which 30 Americans—including 17 Navy SEALs—died after insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter in Wardak province.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Iraq War Marks First Month With No U.S. Military Deaths (by Michael Schmidt, New York Times)

August Deadliest Month Yet for Americans in Afghanistan (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

U.S. Combat in Iraq is Over…Except for the Air Strikes and Deaths (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)