<p>"U.S. excluded car, suicide bombs from Iraq murder toll</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>But the types of slayings, including suicide bombings, that the U.S. excluded from the category of “murder” were not made explicit at the time. That led to confusion after Iraqi Health Ministry figures showed that 1,536 people died violently in and around Baghdad in August, nearly the same number as in July.</p>
<p>The figures raise serious questions about the success of the security operation launched by the U.S.-led coalition. …"</p>
<p>What else is new: spin spin spin. Lather, rinse, repeat.</p>
<p>See also, the intel assessment of the Marine colonel serving in Anbar province as reported in today’s Washington Post.</p>
<p>I’ve never mistrusted my own government as much as I do today, though the Nixon years would give it a run for the money. If Cheney said the sun was rising in the east, I would take map bearings backed by compass readings and GPS-assisted technology just to make sure.</p>
<p>For all of us that believe that our government is in the wrong hands, we have an opportunity to do something about this year. We should all work hard to throw out incumbents who still support the Cheny/Bush administration.</p>
<p>“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.”</p>
<p>Just because they were killed doesn’t mean they are dead. :rolleyes:</p>