Dark spiral

According to Martin Sieff, the death toll amongst US troops in Iraq is on the rise again. While 31 were killed in March, 33 have lost their lives thus far this month, not even half way through.

Sieff observes that this should not be a surprise, because "even when the rate of U.S. military fatalities in Iraq fell significantly in recent months, the numbers of U.S. troops wounded, Iraqi troops killed and Iraqi civilians killed in terror bombings continued at their previous levels or higher." To this, we should also add the uptick in Iraqis killed in sectarian reprisals, which by recent accounts have taken more lives than bombings since the destruction of the Askariya mosque in Samarra on February 22.

We also learn, today, of this:

At least 65,000 Iraqis have fled their homes as a result of sectarian violence and intimidation, according to new figures from the Iraqi government.

And the rate at which Iraqis are being displaced is increasing.

Figures given to the BBC by the Ministry for Displacement and Migration show a doubling in the last two weeks of the number of Iraqis forced to move.

Things only get bleaker by the day...