THINKING FOR OURSELVES

Deaths in Iraq

By Shea Howell

Michigan Citizen, January 27-Feb2, 2008

Something strange is happening in the mainstream media as it covers what is actually happening in Iraq. It seems the media has bought the Bush line that things are better now that the surge is in place. So there is no longer any need to report what is going on. Violence is down and things are getting under control, they tell us.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Violence is not only continuing, it is intruding into the most sacred areas of life, disrupting religious activities, funerals, weddings and other attempts by ordinary Iraqis to celebrate the sorrows or joys of life among friends and family. Moreover, much of this violence is selectively aimed at Iraqis who are viewed as collaborators with U.S. forces. Individuals and events associated with the Awakening Councils, groups organized and supported by the U.S., have been especially targeted, as have Iraqi policemen and soldiers.

Over the last few days reporting on this violence has all but disappeared from the front pages. When it is reported, it is fragmented and downplayed, scattered throughout news accounts that either obscure or mislead readers. Yet a careful reading shows that while Baghdad may be less deadly, the intensity of the violent attacks continues across the country.

Over the weekend, while many of us were celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dedication to peace, 134 people died in Iraq. Their deaths were reported in haphazard ways, hidden behind stories of armored vehicles or under the unbelievably misleading headlineÒ15 People are Killed Across Iraq on Shiite Religious HolidayÓ that appeared on page 5 of the Sunday,January 20, New York Times. The story then went on to chronicle 99 deaths.

Over the weekend four articles in the Times typified the trend to cover up what is happening. One article provided a profile of a suicide bomber, another acknowledged in its headline "Suicide bomber kills 17 at ceremony near capital." A third talked about the killing of an ally, and the last emphasized the development of a new vehicle to protect U.S. soldiers from roadside bombs.

Woven in the text of all these stories were small fragments of sentences that indicated much more widespread violence. Here are some of these fragments extracted from three articles:

• The military announced on Monday the deaths of two American soldiers in combat; both died on Saturday.
• 7 unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad.
• 2 Iraqis were killed in Mosul.
• 2 Iraqi civilians were killed near Samarra when an IED detonated beneath their truck
• A boy of 13 detonated a vest after handing over chocolates.
• 4 people were killed.
• In a blast on new vehicle 1 soldier was killed.
• A rocket attack killed 7 and wounded 20 in Tal Afar.
• · In Ramadi 3 suicide bombers attacked a police station...five policemen were killed.
• 2 Shiites celebrating Ashura were killed in Kirkuk when a bomb in trash exploded.
• In Baghdad a bomb exploded in Sadr City killing one.
• Bitter fighting in the south on Friday left at least 66 dead in Basra and Nasiriya..
• In Basra fighting was reported in three quarters of city 6 policemen and two Iraqi soldiers were killed.
• In Nasiriya six policemen and Iraqi soldier were killed.

Nearly 100 of these deaths were described in an article that concluded,

"In the past years militants have used the celebration to attack vulnerable Shiites marching to Karbala, but this year heavy security appeared to prevent any significant violence."

In a war where any single death is one too many, the ability of the media to view such carnage as ÒinsignificantÓ is an outrage to public conscience.

Email Shea Boggs Center,