Others have numbers, too

This AP article has some interesting figures on the number of dead in Iraq - not Americans, but civilians killed by suicide bombers:

In the six months since Iraq's government took office, suicide bombers have struck nearly 200 times, killing at least one-third of the more than 3,902 Iraqis slain in war-related violence since April 28, according to an Associated Press count.

The overwhelming majority of those killed between April 28 and Oct. 28 died in insurgent attacks, suicide or otherwise. Of these, 1,128 were security personnel and 2,774 — or two-thirds — were civilians, according to the count drawn from daily reports from Iraqi government officials, hospitals and the U.S. government. Insurgent deaths were not part of the AP tally.

The anti-war crowd would have you believe that the majority of civilian deaths are caused by American Forces. They're wrong. Also, note to AP - they're terrorists. Insurgents don't blow themselves up in crowds of civilians.

Unusual for an AP piece, there's actually some good news:

Amid the unremitting violence, the new Iraqi government has written the country's constitution, held a nationwide referendum on the document, and is now preparing for Dec. 15 elections for a new government.

There are nonetheless small signs that Iraq's government is succeeding in rebuilding the country with the help of coalition forces. The electricity supply has risen steadily since April, from 3,390 megawatts to 4,117 megawatts in October — although well below the goal of 6,000 megawatts, which was to have been reached by July 2004, according to a Brookings Institution count.

And the number of Iraqis who have telephone access has risen to 4.5 million, compared with an estimated prewar level of 833,000, Brookings reported.

"We have seen Iraqi-elected leaders grow into their positions, becoming more confident, visible and forceful," Maj. Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, commander of the 42nd Infantry Division and Task Force Liberty, said Friday. "They have taken on more and more responsibility for solving problems; in other words, Iraqi solutions to Iraqi issues."

Fact is, we're getting the job done. Maybe slower than most would like, but even AP can no longer hide it. There's no quagmire. If we were to remove our troops now, as the anti-war left desires, all of the progress will be lost. Iraq will fall into anarchy and eventually be taken over by the radical Islamofascists. If that happens, 3902 will seem like a small number indeed. And that's why we have to finish the job.

There's great hope for the future. But not if we cut and run.