More Lies
From Dr. Cole at Informed Comment – Iraq Casualty Numbers Doctored:
Since the Bush administration doesn’t actually have any good news on Iraq, they are just making it up. It confirms your worst suspicions. They haven’t been counting victims of car bombings when they say that violence is down in Iraq! Bush administration spokesmen and officials are just saying that fewer bodies are found in the streets, victims of death squads. But the number of victims of car bombing has actually increased in this period.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government is withholding statistics on Iraqi casualties from the United Nations.
It is official: The real parts of the Iraq War are being treated as imaginary, and the imaginary parts are being treated as though they are real.
When I heard “administration officials” claiming that sectarian violence was down, I wondered what planet they were on. They have been performing some creative “surgery” on the facts to save Miss Laura from the brutal reality.
In the real world Riverbend of Baghdad Burning is preparing to leave Iraq. Things have deteriorated to the point that her family has decided to abandon their home and history.
2 comments
I have gotten the impression over the last few years that Riverbend’s family must by fairly well off. She has been able to maintain her internet connectivity while this mess has been playing out and apparently managed to stay safe. I would imagine that that would take someone with both money and powerful family. The fact that her family has now decided to leave is going to diminish the remaining Iraqis even more. In situations like this it is typically the best and brightest of a population who have the wherewithal to make an escape.
I get the same feeling, that her family must have connections, and those connections don’t seem to be enough anymore.
I think the Wall and the Surge were the last straws. At any moment the Madhi Army is going to strike back, with great force against the Sunnis. They have been holding back for a very long time and Sadr can’t contain them forever.
I think Riverbend and her family realize this and want to leave before it gets even worse.