From Baghdad, the great
Charles Hanley reports that the U.S. has "stepped up attacks in Iraq, dropping bombs at more than twice the rate of a year ago."
And the darnedest thing happens when you drop 237 bombs onto a country in 4.5 months:
At the same time, the number of civilian Iraqi casualties from U.S. airstrikes appears to have risen sharply, according to
Iraq Body Count, a London-based, anti-war research group that maintains a database compiling news media reports on Iraqi war deaths.
The rate of such reported civilian deaths appeared to climb steadily through 2006, the group reports, averaging just a few a month in early 2006, hitting some 40 a month by year's end, and averaging more than 50 a month so far this year.
Good thing they run that database out of London, because it's un-American to count the blown-up bystanders.
The U.S. military itself says it doesn't track civilian casualties.
And why should we? Who gives a shit about those bastards, whose purple-thumbed freedom is worth
$2 trillion, thousands of American lives (hey, we do count
those), and America's reputation? We do it because we care, I mean we don't need to care, oh whatever!
Look, it's martial Darwinism or God's will. If they can't survive our 500 bombs a year, I guess America's / the Lord's gift of freedom just wasn't for them.
Besides, the bombing deaths are a drop in the bucket compared to the real action in ever-improving Iraq:
Air Force Col. Gary Crowder, deputy director of the regional air operations center, said such casualties "pale in comparison" with civilian casualties from ground combat.
And, really, stop yer bitchin', Iraqis, — you're living in a relative Eden (who knows, maybe you're living in the actual
Eden).
Air attacks in Iraq are still relatively low compared with the numbers of weapons dropped in Afghanistan -- 929 this year as of May 15.
Maybe the next thing we drop on these fortunate folks should be crates of "Life is good" shirts (in Arabic). It's
wartime,
occupation-time, happy, peaceful surge-time, and the livin' is easy!
With politicians from both parties continuing to demand that the Iraqi people stand up (no ducking and covering, please!), I hope Mr. Hanley can get the Iraqi government to finally answer the essential question: "When you started this war, what the hell were you thinking?"
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