daily avg attacks on US forces up to 26, and was 35 attacks one day

from BUZZFLASH alert

In recent weeks, the daily average of attacks on U.S. forces has stepped up to 25 or 26, and even to 35 on one day, from around 20. 10/26

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3307273,00.html

'Long, Hard Slog' Playing Out in Iraq

Saturday October 25, 2003 10:31 AM


By CHARLES J. HANLEY

AP Special Correspondent

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Statistics tell one story: In recent weeks, the daily average of attacks on U.S. forces has stepped up to 25 or 26, and even to 35 on one day, from around 20.

The cold eyes of many Iraqis tell a deeper one, in places like Fallujah, where 82nd Airborne Division troops came under attack every day this week. The main crossroads in the city, 35 miles west of the capital, is adorned with graffiti proclaiming, ``Fallujah will be the graveyard of Americans.''

``Whenever they enter Fallujah, they'll be attacked,'' Assou Nadim Hamid told a reporter. The fact that he was a policeman may give Americans some insight into the quandary their forces face in parts of Iraq.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote in a memo last week that the United States can ``win in Afghanistan and Iraq,'' but ``it will be a long, hard slog.'' His deputy, Paul Wolfowitz, arrived in Baghdad on Friday for a three-day visit to take another look at just how long and hard it might be.

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