Most heinously is this number, where a Yahoo writer manages to - you guessed it - find the downside of Iraqis not dying so often. The headline says it all: "As Violence Falls in Iraq, Cemetery Workers Feel The Pinch." If deaths are up, tell everyone that deaths are up. If deaths are down, hit them in the back of the head with a racquetball.
Then there's this WaPo story, picked up by one of the Kossacks, apparently without reading the whole thing. The Kosling latches immediately onto the idea that the Shiites are now more dangerous than ever, and that we're stuck in a quagmire. A more thorough reading of the same story reveals an important quote, that apparently has been spun so far out of proportion as to be unrecognizable.
"'As the Sunni insurgents quit fighting us, the problems we have with criminality and other militia, many of them Shia, become relatively more important,' said a U.S. Embassy official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plan is not finalized."
The key word here, that the left above all people should recognize, is "relatively." This language does not indicate a rise in violence or the absolute growth of a problem, or even a surge in any criminal or insurgent activity. It only says that the Shiite actors are now more problematic than the Sunnis because the Sunnis are less of a problem. If Petraeus and Crocker are saying anything, they're saying that with some of the Sunni issues in hand, they can begin to focus more on Shi'ia issues.
I'm not sure how this could be more clear to the champions of "cultural relativity," but yet they still attempt to crash that little blue ball into your occipital lobe while you're staring right at it.
Embedded journalist Michael Yon's latest dispatch vents some frustration on the matter as well.
"Anyone who has been in Iraq for longer than a few months, visited a handful of provinces, and spoken with a good number of Iraqis, likely would acknowledge that the reality here is complex and dynamic. But in the last six months it also has been increasingly hopeful, despite what the pessimistic dogma dome allows Americans and British to believe."
You should read the whole thing, but the "dogma dome" Yon is talking about is palpable for those of us who are paying attention. And even those who aren't paying attention but manage to read about the hardships of cemetery workers.
To me, it seems that ridiculous leaps of logic like that are an extension of the front against the progress that Petraeus explained in September; casualties had trended down significantly. Not only did they trend down significantly, but during Ramadan, violence actually dropped; a first since 2003. The press and certain politicians said that accepting these truths required a "willing suspension of disbelief." The defeatists at Moveon launched a smear ad against the general. But the facts spoke for themselves.
We might be seeing the same exact thing beginning to ramp up again as October draws to a close. According to icasualties.org, there were 64 US Military deaths and 848 ISF or Civilian deaths at the end of September. With less than 10 days to go in October, there are only 28 US Military deaths and 474 ISF or Civilian deaths. The trend appears to be continuing.
Viewed one month at a time, these numbers are encouraging (but no doubt, the leaders on the ground are taking things much slower than that). Which is why I suspect the MSM is reaching so far; they know bad news sells, and they might not have as much at the end of this month.
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