Iraqi Violence Ebbed in September, Reports Say

I will admit that violence has declined in Iraq lately. And the reason I know this, is because the press has turned its attention to Myanmar. Does anyone know or care about that obscure country? The press certainly doesn't, they are more interested in the violent images coming from there. When is the last time you heard about Darfur? No video, who cares?

The question is: how long before the violence returns? You don't really believe it's going to continue to decline, do you? Are Iran and al Qaeda laying low? Will the White House use the lull in the fighting to turn it's attention to bombing Iran? It just seems to me like the calm before the storm:

The number of violent civilian deaths in Iraq dropped precipitously in September compared with the previous month, an Iraqi government official and an independent monitoring group said Monday.

The general downward trend in violence was also apparent in the decline, to 63, in the number of American service members killed last month, from 84 in August, the American military reported Monday. That was the lowest monthly total in more than a year.

American military officials here quickly asserted that the decline in civilian and military deaths was a direct result of the rapid buildup of American forces in Iraq this year.