HeadLyings

posted by The Sailor @ 5:45 PM Permalink

So how's that whole surge escalation thing going?

Petraeus: Things Will Get Worse Before They Get Better
[...]
He says that the increasing use of car bombs and suicide attacks plus the greater concentration of US troops among the population, have led to greater US and Iraqi military losses.

U.S. officials exclude car bombs in touting drop in Iraq violence

U.S. officials who say there has been a dramatic drop in sectarian violence in Iraq since President Bush began sending more American troops into Baghdad aren't counting one of the main killers of Iraqi civilians.

Car bombs and other explosive devices have killed thousands of Iraqis in the past three years, but the administration doesn't include them in the casualty counts it has been citing as evidence that the surge of additional U.S. forces is beginning to defuse tensions between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
[...]
But the number of people killed in explosive attacks is rising, the same statistics show - up from 323 in March, the first full month of the security plan, to 365 through April 24.
[...]
In that same period, the number of bombings has increased, as well. In December, there were 65 explosive attacks. That number was unchanged in January, but it rose to 72 in February, 74 in March and 81 through April 24.

Iraq won't give casualty figures to UN

The Iraqi government has refused to provide civilian casualty figures to the United Nations for its latest report on the hardships facing Iraqis, the UN said Wednesday, but numbers from various ministries indicate that more than 5,500 people died in the Baghdad area alone in the first three months of 2007.
[...]
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government rejected the report for its criticisms of the country's judicial system, saying it "lacks accuracy" and balance.

Really!? Gee PM, if it lacks accuracy, it's because you won't release the numbers. Now why wouldn't they want to release the numbers?

Ivana Vuco, a UN human-rights officer, said government officials had made clear during discussions that they believed releasing high casualty numbers would make it more difficult to quell unrest.
[...]
American officials also defended al-Maliki's decision to withhold casualty figures. "There were sometimes concerns with political motivations" in the release of statistics, one U.S. Embassy official said, referring to the sectarian and ethnic polarization plaguing al-Maliki's government.

Yeah, all those pesky civilian deaths might cramp the White House's lies about the escalation working.

Labels: Headlyings, Iraq war