U.S. excluded car, suicide bombs from Iraq murder toll

[Astrad]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The U.S. military did not count people killed by bombs, mortars, rockets or other mass attacks when it reported a dramatic drop in the number of murders in the Baghdad area last month, the U.S. command said Monday.

The decision to include only victims of drive-by shootings and those killed by torture and execution, usually at the hands of death squads, allowed U.S. officials to argue that a security crackdown that began in the capital August 7 had more than halved the city's murder rate.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/11/iraq.deaths.ap/index.html

I watched Wolf Blitzer interview a general about this. The general was adamant that his numbers were accurate and that the higher casualty numbers of the Iraqi Health Ministry were wrong. He failed to mention that the US military was neglecting to count certain types of killing. What a pathetically desperate tactic by the Pentagon to try and sway opinion. Sad.

[Kber]

1. I guess dying by mortar attack

is considered death by natural causes these days. Pathetic.

[acmavm]

2. These guys will stop at nothing to justify staying in Iraq. They'll

use any and all means possible to make it look like the situation is getting better.

[Debau2005]

3. I have no words!

How can anyone respond to this? Does this make sense to the repubs in power? Good lord....

So if you are killed by a mortar, you are not dead? Or is it that the ending of your life was not worth reporting?

The state of this country just makes my heart bled. I am so tired of this.

[maddezmom]

4. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2501688