Letters to the Editor

• Juan Cole says we are NOT winning

  [Read the article: Various items]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  But then he only reports the facts.

  From Glenn's post:

  In other words, Bush will not adjust the strategy if Petraeus says it is working. And there are growing indications Petraeus will report significant military progress tempered by continued political problems in Iraq, according to Republicans in close contact with Bush. Jim VandeHei The Politico

  From today's Informed Comment:

  Deadliest July Yet for US Troops;

  23% Rise in Iraqi Deaths in July;

  Maliki Government Teeters--Sunni, Da'wa Discontent

  2007 saw the deadliest July for US troops since the Iraq War began. It also saw a 23% rise in Iraqi deaths over June. July is like a blast furnace in Iraq, with temperatures approaching 120 degrees F. in the shade. Guerrillas typically lie low in this unfavorable environment, compared to other seasons, and so the casualty rates go down. Instead, this year the killing season has gone on as if it were spring.

  Number of US troops killed in Iraq, July, 2007: 74

  Number of US troops killed in Iraq, July, 2006: 43.

  Not only were the US deaths unprecedentedly high in July, the March through June death statistics were also very high.

  And, June saw the highest number of over-all attacks since the war began.

  AP adds: "Iraqi deaths rose, with at least 2,024 civilians, government officials and security forces killed in July, about 23 percent more than the 1,640 who died violently in June, according to Associated Press figures compiled from police reports nationwide."

  Pentagon spokesmen are attempting to portray this near doubling of July troop deaths as a sign of improvement on the security side, counting from June rather than looking at past July figures-- and I fear some corporate media are falling for it.

  I saw Michael O'Hanlon of Brookings on CNN Sunday saying he thought that the violence was less now. (O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack also gave us that uh, optimistic, op-ed about 'a war we could win' in the NYT.) I'd be interested in knowing how he is measuring this supposed fall in violence. If it is the deadliest July ever for US troops in Iraq; if there is a 23% increase in Iraqi deaths over June; if there were more attacks in June than any time since April 2003-- how is that a decrease in violence? Somebody explain that to me.

  http://www.juancole.com/

  Glenn has said on several occasions that the people who own the MSM do not necessarily control the message of the MSM, that journalists continue to exhibit some degree of independence. Whatever the reasons, it should be obvious that the close coordination and collusion between the MSM and the Republican administration (as evidenced most recently in this week's Pollack/O'Hanlon/Cheney propaganda campaign) in promoting the administration's message is the result of a conscious, deliberate and sustained effort.

  Permalink Wednesday, August 1, 2007 08:07 AM

• Remind me again. Is Petraeus counting dead Iraqi innocents in his "surge" assessment?

  [Read the article: Various items]
  [Read more letters about this article: Here]

  Less than an hour ago:

  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The main Sunni Arab political bloc quit the Iraqi cabinet on Wednesday, plunging the government into crisis on a day when suicide bombers killed more than 70 people with massive strikes in the capital.

  The Sunni Accordance Front said its five cabinet members and deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie would resign from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.

  "This is probably the most serious political crisis we have faced since the passage of the constitution. If unresolved the implications are grave," the remaining deputy prime minister, Barhim Salih, a Kurd, told Reuters.

  Maliki's office said the premier regretted the decision and would remain in "permanent contact" with all parties, including the Front.

  Fifty of Wednesday's dead were killed when a suicide bomber in a fuel truck packed with explosives targeted motorists at a petrol station, police said. Another suicide bomber killed 20 people outside a popular ice cream shop across town.

  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070801/ts_nm/iraq_dc;_ylt=AquglDWuj_Ze12hPbPBcEnWs0NUE

  Permalink Wednesday, August 1, 2007 10:27 AM