The Washington Post

Report: Attacks on U.S. Personnel in Iraq Rising

By Vernon Loeb

- Washington Post Staff Writer

Attacks on civilians and U.S. military personnel in Iraq have become so commonplace that a brazen assassination attempt last month on two military officers in civilian dress working for the Coalition Provisional Authority wasn't even reported at the time.

Word of the attack, which left the two Americans shaken but only slightly injured by gunfire, finally turned up last week in the latest security report from Centurion Risk Assessment Services, a British firm staffed by former Royal Marine commandos and British Special forces personnel that counsels journalists and businessmen on how to operate safely in dangerous environments.

"Everyone working in Iraq should take note of this as it could add to problems regarding personal safety and security," Centurion said. "It is believed that this is the first direct assassination attempt on international staff in this manner."

"Many incidents are not making the headlines," the report continued. "Most of them are not being reported at all by the forces involved as they are possibly trying to minimize the threats and play down the overall threat to all involved in working in Iraq."

A spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-led reconstruction agency in Iraq, confirmed the Aug. 16 attack and said it occurred as the two officers detailed to the CPA were leaving the home of a fellow employee in Baghdad. An unidentified gunman fired three shots, one of which apparently grazed both officers, the spokesman said.

"They drove themselves to the hospital to be checked out, and they went to work the next day," the spokesman said. "They were obviously very fortunate."

Two other shots fired during the attack hit two Iraqi bystanders. "It's hard to know exactly what was going on," the spokesman said. "CPA employees thankfully have not been subject to a large number of violent attacks. It's very fortunate that they escaped with very minor injuries."

The Centurion reference to the attack, interestingly enough, comes near the end of its Aug. 27 report, a long laundry list of attacks. It begins, "The nature and intensity of recent security incidents in Iraq gives great cause for concern." And it concludes, "Most of Baghdad and surrounding areas in Iraq remain dangerous with increasing attacks on forces and minor attacks on westerners. The overall trend observed is that of deterioration of the security environment in the country."

What comes in between is hair-raising. Some highlights:

"Armed hijackings are reported daily, especially on the usual route between Baghdad and Amman."

"The use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) is becoming more widespread, especially in the use of remote-controlled devices that limit the dangers to attackers. There have been a number of grenade/IED attacks all over Baghdad, all near hotels where the media, aid agency and non-governmental organization staff are staying. These incidents are rising every day."

I don't know how many times I've heard administration officials argue that the media is overplaying the attacks in Iraq, accentuating the negative, ignoring obvious progress and painting a distorted picture of postwar Iraq. If anything, the Centurion update makes me think the media may actually be failing to capture just how precarious security really is.

Original 'Report: Attacks on U.S. Personnel in Iraq Rising' article