Trying desperately to keep CERTAIN numbers down($$$ and lives)

[underpants]

The "Donor Conference" (read:the Bush team panhandling on a world scale) coverage has repeatedly noted that the US has pledged $20Billion towards rebuilding Iraq. The $20 Billion of course is part of the $87 Billion bill sent to the Hill for approval but the sticker shock felt by 'Murkans that number created was unexpected so they don't mention the total. Yes, that $20 Billion is for rebuilding Iraq specifically so technically that is correct. Again we are seeing Rove's wordsmithing changing the discussion and the lapdogs reading from the script.

One number is actually inflated. The money from "international support" is reported at $33 Billion but 61% of that "international" money is from the US which is domestic not international.

In LBN there is some really good analysis of the numbers being tossed around on NNNOLHI's "Pledge to Rebuild Iraq..." thread.

We also heard this week that the national debt was (yippee hooray) LESS than expected. The number is not the expected $450 Billion but a much more acceptable $374 Billion. That number is the measure of spending in relation to the BUDGET but the budget was approved last fall (fiscal year begins in October) so none of the supplemental funding requests are included in that total. These requests are direct costs associated with the decision to go to war in Iraq. The first request was for $79 Billion and now $87 Billion, totaling $166 Billion making the actual total $540 Billion. But that should not be mentioned as different numbers can be reported and pray the public doesn't do the math.


Another number that the White House and the press are trying to keep low are the number of DEAD as a result of the unilateral misinformed illegal military action.

At first it was "The number who have died in the Iraq war..."

When that number kept creeping up it became "The number of COMBAT deaths....."

creep creep creep

"The number of deaths since PRESIDENT Bush declared major combat operations over....."

Oops creep creep creep

"The number of COMBAT deaths since PRESIDENT Bush declared major combat operations over....."

Well the number, as we have agonizingly witnessed, kept going up and the media ran out of qualifiers so they changed the ending:

"The number of COMBAT deaths since May 1st....."

Some do still mention W's "Mission Accomplished" speech but some don't and even those who do hope that the seperation that two sentences entail will not be caught by the masses. Ironically the workdsmithing that Rove did to connect Saddam to 9/11 without actually saying it is working against them now. The 'Murkan people got that connection and they get this one too.

But that is not going to stop them from trying.