Iraqi official: Iraq govt. lying about number of civilian casualties

[antiimperialist]

From the McClatchy newspapers, lost in the third paragraph from the bottom, we learn today that, "According to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, 984 people were killed across Iraq in February, and 1,011 died in violence in August. No July numbers were released because the ministry said the numbers weren't clear.

But an official in the ministry who spoke anonymously because he wasn't authorized to release numbers said those numbers were heavily manipulated.

The official said 1,980 Iraqis had been killed in July and that violent deaths soared in August, to 2,890.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/19566.html

Are these the numbers Petraeus is using?

[ProSense]

1. More:

News: MoveOn's silly, distracting ad has RW up in arms; Petraeus says surge is working; more...

[Igel]

2. Do you trust the anonymous source?

Is he Sunni trying to make the Shi'ites look bad? Shi'ite, but in JM, trying to make the non-Mahdi Shi'ites look bad? Is he relaying a rumor? Is he angling for a quick withdrawal of the US?

In other words, is his desire to achieve his goals or play games with honor greater or less than his dedication to the truth?

Does he have good access to accurate numbers from the Sunni and militia-held Shi'ite areas? Is he including traffic deaths in with suicide bombings and sectarian violence? Is there a difference in importance? (Remember that a workshop with 10 people and 10 volunteers can kill 1k people, while 20 people with guns forming a militia squad might only be able to off 50 before their numbers are attrited, and it's a lot easier for 10 cars to be positioned than it is for the militia squad to blend in.)

Don't know? Then you don't know how reliable the numbers are. It's the big complaint against Petraeus' numbers, so let's not say his numbers are bad when he can't answer these questions, but ours are gold *because* we can't answer these questions.

They've recently said that liberals can handle ambiguity and nuance better than conservatives. Here's a chance for us to shine.

[Pyewacket]

3. Lies and War

Isn't it always the case that governments lie in times of war.