By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. military acknowledged Thursday that its two-month drive to crush insurgent and militia violence in the Iraqi capital had fallen short, calling the raging bloodshed disheartening and saying it was rethinking its strategy to rein in gunmen, torturers and bombers.
The admission by military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell came as car bombs, mortar fire and shootings around the country killed at least 66 people and wounded 175. The dead included the Anbar province police commander, slain by gunmen who burst into his home in Ramadi.
The U.S. military also announced the deaths of three U.S. troops in fighting, raising the toll for American troops in October to 74. The month is on course to be the deadliest for U.S. forces in nearly two years.
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Remember, Dick Cheney said on Wretch Limbaugh's show, regarding the U.S. troops in Iraq: "If you look at the general overall situation, they’re doing remarkably well."
Of course, Dick "The Liar" Cheney is the guy who said that American troops would be greeted as liberators and that the insurgency was in its last throes.
Recall too that in May of this year the Joint Chiefs of Staff circulated a secret intelligence assessment to the White House that forecasted a more violent 2007: "Insurgents and terrorists retain the resources and capabilities to sustain and even increase current level of violence through the next year."