Iraq Miscellany

Casualties are back up this month. From the New York Times:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 12 - The death toll for American troops is rising steeply this month, with the military today announcing the deaths of two more soldiers, bringing the number of troops killed this month to at least 33. That figure already surpasses the American military deaths for all of March, and could signal a renewed insurgent offensive against the American presence here.

Deaths of U.S. Soldiers Climb Again in Iraq - New York Times

It could also be the result of the fact, noted here in Monday's Washington Post, that U.S soldiers are back on patrol in areas of Baghdad recently handed over to the Iraqi Army, in "a tacit acknowledgment that Iraqi troops have not been able to control violence between Shiites and Sunnis on their own."

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich wants out: "It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003," Gingrich said during an informal question-and-answer session. "We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it."

Finally, due to the situation in Iraq, Pat Buchanan says an attack on Iran right now would be crazy, and suggests negotiation:

If President Bush is truly confident that time is on the side of democracy and freedom, what does he have to lose by negotiating a cold peace with the mullahs' Iran, a failed regime that does not dispose of 5 percent of the military or economic power of United States? We outlasted the British Empire, Stalin and Mao. Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a bigger problem?

Perhaps, in Churchill's words, it is time for jaw-jaw, not war-war.

Not much for me to say here. More Cons are turning against the war.
The Newt Gingrich comments have not been widely reported.