Mainstream Media lies about 3,000 Iraq war dead...

Jayme Evans, proprietor of War of Wits, writes in his latest piece called "A Media Milestone":

... Ted Kennedy, The Associated Press, Reuters News Service, and other mental midgets in the media rang in the New Year celebrating the historic milestone of the 3,000th US servicemember killed in Iraq. Kennedy called it a "tragic milestone", while the media variously referred to it as a "grim milestone" or "the death toll milestone".

Both Reuters and the AP were practically drooling, awaiting the announcement of the next dead soldier. As a matter of fact, for about two hours on New Year's Eve, Yahoo News posted an article attributed to Reuters entitled "US death toll in Iraq reaches 2,999" with no byline. A few hours later, it was replaced with the three thousand figure. The article was then attributed to Claudia Parsons (Reuters), and has been updated on several occasions.

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Both Reuters and the AP
were practically drooling,
awaiting the announcement
of the next dead soldier.

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Reuters is straining sooo hard to emphasize that this is a milestone, that the story was accompanied by those unauthorized photos of flag-draped coffins being offloaded at Dover Delaware that are several years old. In addition, according the the source they're citing for the casualty figures, there has yet to be an official confirmation of the three thousand figure, yet the Reuters headlines scream "3,000 dead". ...

... A milestone is something you use to measure either a). distance, or b). progress. So unless you're cheering for the terrorists in Iraq, no number of dead US soldiers is a "milestone". And no body count should ever be the measure of the success or failure of an entire military campaign.

Jayme concludes...

I have monitored DoD casualty reports for two years. DoD only confirms military deaths upon notification of the families, and sometimes they are posted on DoD's website out of chronological sequence. Therefore, I submit to you that the entire premise of this piece of garbage propagated by Reuters, and then modified at least three times over the course of six hours is in question. The number 3,000 cannot be confirmed by any independent source, and yet Reuters reported it as fact.

Even worse, not only does Ms. Parsons report suggest that an unconfirmed US body count is some sort of measure of progress, she disrespects all US soldiers by devoting half of her article on their deaths to the details of how Saddam Hussein was mourned in his hometown. Apparently she sees Saddam Hussein as morally equal, and therefore deserving of just as much attention. What a sicko.

And people wonder why the influence and subscription rates of mainstream media publications continue to plummet. The only milestone worthy of mention here is the new lows that some people and organizations will descend to, in order to advance their agenda.

The eagerness with which the MSM and many Democrats point to casualties in Iraq is horrible, although somewhat understandable. Whether in Iraq or here at home on the local news, Death is the lead story almost everywhere you look. Combine that with anti-Bush blinders and it can seem almost like joy.

The MSM and many libs suffering from liberal guilt want us to lose... period. Well done Jayme!

Daniel Pipes:

“Pacifism, self-hatred and complacency are lengthening the war against radical Islam and causing undue casualties. Only after absorbing catastrophic human and property losses will left-leaning Westerners likely overcome this triple affliction and confront the true scope of the threat. The civilized world will likely then prevail, but belatedly and at a higher cost than need have been.”