“As in any time when our operations are very proactive and going out after the terrorists groups, the insurgent groups, there is always the possibility that our casualties will go up,”
“As we get closer to the referendum, just as we saw at the beginning of the year going toward the (January 30) election, it's always expected that they (insurgents) will increase their activities to try to cause intimidation and fear in those who would go out to vote.”
“We are not redeploying units/personnel for the hurricane relief efforts as all the units/personnel here are required for the ongoing security and stability operations happening here in Iraq,”
“Last month, we had quite a few operations across Iraq, ... These were more specific and intense operations. Whenever you have more offensive operations rather than just patrols and searches there are always the risk of more casualties.”