FT.com | US deaths rise in wake of Saddam capture

"US combat deaths in Iraq have risen sharply during January despite a drop in the number of attacks and the capture of former dictator Saddam Hussein over a month ago.

As of Thursday, 33 American soldiers and one civilian had been killed by hostile fire during the month. That compares with 24 US combat deaths in December, and a total of 32 coalition combat deaths."

Of course, it was ludicrus of Dean to suggest that Americans were not safer after the capture of Saddam Hussein, wasn't it? But, if that is indeed the case, shouldn't we be seeing an improvement in security in Iraq? Or is this another "No Child Left Behind" in which we are to accept the official line without examining the consequences?

But the real joke is this paragraph from the article:

The US military on Thursday declined to confirm or deny the figures for combat deaths in Iraq this month, which were calculated from press releases from US Central Command in Florida. A US military spokesman in Baghdad said figures were only kept for two-month periods, and a computer malfunction made it impossible to calculate an official casualty count for separate months.

How convenient!