Iraqi civilian casualties rising, U.S. admits

The U.S. military has consistently denied that it tracks Iraqi civilian deaths. So a Pentagon report that includes a graph of exactly that statistic (see page 23) is raising eyebrows.

Nor are the numbers particularly encouraging. As the New York Times reports, the graph appears to show that

Iraqi civilians and security forces were killed and wounded by insurgents at a rate of about 26 a day early in 2004, and at a rate of about 40 a day later that year. The rate increased in 2005 to about 51 a day, and by the end of August had jumped to about 63 a day.