Violence in significant decline in Iraq

CNN:

The number of U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths has dropped dramatically, according to recent reports, although American military officials said it is too soon to declare a turning point in the conflict.

Thirty-seven Americans have died in October, the lowest monthly figure since March 2006 when 31 perished, according to the U.S. military.

Three soldiers died Tuesday southeast of Baghdad when a roadside bomb struck a U.S. military patrol.

The number of Iraqi civilians killed in September was 844, down from 1,990 in January, according to Iraqi governmental figures provided to CNN.

Slain bodies found dumped in Baghdad dropped from 428 in August to 301 in September and 151 so far in October, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

The numbers mark a decline in fatalities since the war began in March 2003 and point to a decrease in violence after a year of pitched battles and sectarian strife.

Still, cautious U.S. and Iraqi military officials aren't ready to proclaim a decisive moment in the war, saying such an outlook would require the Iraqi government to do a better job of promoting political reconciliation and compromise.

"Well, I think we're almost there," said Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, interviewed by CNN. "I tell everybody we have momentum. We've not yet created what I consider to be irreversible momentum, but our goal is to create that irreversible momentum."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said, "We are in a race against time. We have to make the best use of time ... to step in before this achievement could evaporate."

Other examples of a decline in violence have emerged as well.
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One of the races they are in is to defeat the enemy before the Democrats try to force a retreat. They decline in violence also suggest that the so called "sectarian civil war" was a result of al Qaeda's attempts to force a let's you and him fight scenario on the Iraqis, and with the demise of al Qaeda there is less fighting between the Sunni and Shia.

This dramatic turn in events suggest the surge has had a positive impact on the situation and that the Democrats have been wrong all year about that effect. This should have a negative impact on their candidates as more people realize just how wrong they were and how they almost forced an unnecessary defeat on the US.