One has to wonder if those that create the headlines even bother reading the actual article the reporter wrote.
Wapo obviously doesn't.
HEADLINE: Body Count In Baghdad Up in June
Excerpts from the article: First they quote an "unofficial source".
BAGHDAD, July 4 -- Nearly five months into a security strategy that involves thousands of additional U.S. and Iraqi troops patrolling Baghdad, the number of unidentified bodies found on the streets of the capital was 41 percent higher in June than in January, according to unofficial Health Ministry statistics.
Then then go on to debunk their own headline:
Overall, the level of violent civilian deaths in Iraq is declining, according to the U.S. military and Health Ministry statistics, and there has been a steady drop in fatalities from mass-casualty bombings that have torn through outdoor markets, university bus stops and crowds assembled to collect food rations.
This part I love:
But even before the plan went into effect, the number of bodies discovered had fallen well below the levels of last fall. In October, for instance, 1,782 unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad, according to the United Nations, citing official statistics provided by the Health Ministry.
By January, the total dropped to 321 in the capital, according to the statistics provided to The Washington Post, followed by 294 in February, 272 in March and 182 in April. But the figure spiked upward to 433 in May and 453 last month. A Health Ministry spokesman could not be reached for comment on the statistics despite several attempts.
So, by all means, if you cannot contact an "official source" just run with an unofficial source and tell everyone they are unofficial so you cannot be accused of simply making it up as you go along.
It seems Wapo is taking lessons from the AP and just reporting rumor and praying that no one actually calls them out on reporting outright lies, as AP got busted for reporting on 20 beheadings that actually never happened and being forced to retract the story, but without the screaming headlines that the initial story generated.
More from Wapo.
The statistics provided by the Health Ministry official put the number of civilian fatalities in June across Baghdad and other provinces at 2,097, excluding the three that make up the northern Kurdish region, which is more peaceful. This number is 34 percent lower than the 3,190 civilian deaths the ministry recorded in January, but above a low point reached in April, when 1,664 civilians died, according to the official.
The figures were higher than those reported Sunday by Iraqi television stations and news services, citing Iraqi ministries, which said that in June, 1,227 civilians died violently in Iraq, a decrease of 36 percent compared with May, representing the lowest monthly total since the Baghdad security plan began. The statistics provided to The Post indicated that the decrease from May to June was 6 percent.
Here it is again,"The statistics provided to The Post indicated that the decrease from May to June was 6%"...oooooooookay, lets break this down for a second.
First the statistics provided was, as admitted above by Wapo, from AN UNOFFICIAL SOURCE.
Secondly and even more amusing, the headline said "Body Count In Baghdad Up in June" and yet that last paragraph JUST SAID "The statistics provided to The Post indicated that the decrease from May to June was 6%".....
ummmmmm, which is it? The headline, or the actual figures?
Come on people!!!!!
That thing on your shoulders is called a head, that grey matter inside is called a brain, LEARN HOW TO USE IT. Please.
Wapo as well as other liberal media today seem to understand that many people don't bother to read the actual article, they simply run with the headlines and no facts and they also do not bother showing that Wapo ADMITS that they are using "unofficial sources" rather than official sources.
Weekly Standard hits the nail right on the head here:
There's plenty of bad news to report from Iraq, but this story seems to be a bit of a reach...the only reliable statistic that the Post can produce indicates real progress against al Qaeda in Iraq, everything else just looks like a shot in the dark--an unnamed official from an unreliable ministry who may be pushing an unknown agenda. Readers should take it with a grain of salt, even if the Post doesn't.
Wapo's motto is now, "we don't need no stinkin facts" to write our headlines.
Is it any wonder the liberal left is as clueless as it is? They read Wapo.
This one was for you Joanne!!!! Thanks for the email.
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