U.S. Casualties At 2-Year High In Iraq, May Spike If Administration Pledges To Stay Longer

Two American troops were killed in northern Iraqyesterday while “conducting operations.” The New York Times reports that the military “did not elaborate, but that terminology is usually meant to indicate the deaths were caused by enemy attack.” And earlier this month, an Iranian-backed Shiite militia group attacked and killed six U.S. soldiers. Now, total U.S. combat deaths in Iraq in June has reached 11, the most since May 2009. But despite the fact that Americans are still dying combat related deaths in Iraq, President Obamaannounced last year that the U.S ended hostilities in Iraq and said as recently as last week in his speech that America’s combat mission there was already over: