US claims of Iraqi 'peace' in tatters (The Independent, UK, 4/17)

[dbt]

The upsurge in violence across Iraq in the past four days has left claims made by the Pentagon that the tide is turning in Iraq and there are hopeful signs of a return to normality in tatters.

At least 17 Iraqis were killed during the day and two US soldiers were reported dead after a series of attacks.

Most violent incidents in Iraq go unreported. We saw one suicide bomb explosion, clouds of smoke and dust erupting into the air, and heard another in the space of an hour. Neither was mentioned in official reports. Last year US soldiers told the IoS that they do not tell their superiors about attacks on them unless they suffer casualties. This avoids bureaucratic hassle and "our generals want to hear about the number of attacks going down not up". This makes the official Pentagon claim that the number of insurgent attacks is down from 140 a day in January to 40 a day this month dubious.

US casualties have fallen to about one dead a day in March compared with four a day in January and five a day in November. But this is the result of a switch in American strategy rather than a sign of a collapse in the insurgency. US military spokesmen make plain that America's military priority has changed from offensive operations to training Iraqi troops and police. More than 2,000 US military advisers are working with Iraqi forces.

More.

The article mentions that US media representatives are largely kept in their hotels by fear of being kidnapped and how it is possible to sell the Murkin pubic the idea that no news is good news.

[xchrom]

1. the country who cried ''wolf''.

[Jim__]

2. US media representatives are largely kept in their hotels by fear of being

Yesterday on Meet the Press, the NY Times reporter told Russert how you could see the change in the Iraqi people by going out in the street and talking to them. Then, a little later, he said that he can't go out into the street and talk to the people for more than a few minutes at a time because that would draw the insurgents. Timid Timmy, of course, didn't catch the contradiction.

[KlatooBNikto]

3. There will be no peace anywhere in the world so long as we are seen

as predators with a wilful disregard for the rights and the lives of brown,black and yellow skinned people.