CNN Finds NEW Way to Count Body Bags, Now in Afghanistan

By Warner Todd Huston (Bio | Archive)
July 1, 2008 - 11:51 ET

We've taken notice that Iraq is suddenly out of the news now that things are consistently going so well for U.S. forces there. Well, since CNN can't find much bad to talk about in Iraq they've finally found some "bad" news they can use as a needle to stick in the Bush Administration's collective eye. In Coalition troop deaths in Afghanistan surpass Iraq, CNN has discovered that they can make a body bag contest out of casualties between Iraq and Afghanistan. Oh, joy!

For the second month in a row, U.S. and allied troop deaths in the Afghan war have surpassed those in Iraq, according to official figures tallied by CNN... In June, 46 foreign troops died in Afghanistan and 31 troops died in Iraq. In May, 23 foreign troops died in Afghanistan and 21 died in Iraq.

Stop the presses! And, did you notice that now they are adding foreign troops up because they can't get enough American deaths to report? Can you remember the last time the American press was worried about the casualties among our foreign coalition?

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It also doesn’t escape notice that the headline is a bit misleading. Read standing alone, one would think that the headline is saying more troops have now died in Afghanistan than have died in Iraq for the entire war. After all, the headline doesn’t restrict itself to just the two months in question! A lazy reader might tend to take away the wrong impression by this badly composed headline.

Now, veteran newsers know that the largest amount of news readers only read the headline and the first few paragraphs before moving on to the next story. For that matter, many people only read the headline before they move on. So, all the bad news is often pushed up front so that the worst impression is left with the half-readers. And this story is a classic example of that.

Still, one should give this CNN report some credit because it does say things are going better in Iraq.

Violence in Iraq has dropped. Among the reasons that have been cited are inroads made by the "surge" military offensive; Iraq's military operations against militants; the growth of the Awakening Councils, opposing al Qaeda in Iraq, among Sunni Arabs; efforts at political compromise; and the cessation of hostilities by mainstream members of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army.

So, kudos for that one. In fact there is quite a lot of good news in this particular report on how violence and deaths are down in Iraq and Afghanistan... all after the lede, of course.

Sadly, though, instead of headlining the story with the good news, CNN leads the reader with all the bad news first. All the better to leave the worst impression possible even while actually reporting some good news.

(H/T NewsBuster reader Frank)


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Personal note...

July 1, 2008 - 11:55 ET by Warner Todd Huston

By the way, folks. Just to let you all know, I am headed off to Gettysburg, Penn. for a week long vacation. I am leaving the computer home! That's right, no blogging for a week. I may have withdrawal symptoms, but I'll muddle through.

So, unless I find a story tonight to pop onto the site, I'll be out of circulation until the middle of next week.

And now the chorus of "thank God he'll be gone" rings out! (LOL)

They are outright lying.

July 1, 2008 - 12:05 ET by dronetek

I was watching Wolf Blitzed the other night and they kept making the claim that "The taliban prison break is a sign of the US losing focus". The problem is, that break out happened in a Canadian controlled area. 

You will be missed WTH

July 1, 2008 - 12:13 ET by Dee Bunk

Have a great vacation!

Personal note...

July 1, 2008 - 12:13 ET by allamericangirl

I feel for ya, I wish someone would create a withdrawal patch for this. Have a great vacation.

Ten years ago we did a trip

July 2, 2008 - 09:45 ET by BD

Ten years ago we did a trip to Gettysburg to do a battlefield analysis of Little Round Top, and I am still in awe of both sides.

Warner, Harry Smith said

July 1, 2008 - 12:08 ET by bassndude

Warner, Harry Smith said the same thing this morning while questioning a young, (very beautiful to, I might add) lady about the war. When I growled, my wife got up and left the room....  

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

Iraq progress

July 1, 2008 - 12:16 ET by TruthMonger

http://newsbusters.org/forums/latest-news/how-could-we-know-22312

Got this from an email today:

Did you know that 47 countries have reestablished their embassies in Iraq?

Did you know that the Iraqi government currently employs 1.2 million Iraqi people?

Rebuilt Education:

Did you know that 3100 schools have been renovated, 364 schools are under rehabilitation, 263 new schools are now  under construction and 38 new schools have been completed in Iraq?

Did you know that Iraq's higher educational structure consists of 20 Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research  centers, all currently operating?

Did you know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program?

Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary school by mid October?

Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?

Rebuilt Military:

Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational?

They have 5 - 100-foot patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.

Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational squadrons, which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport aircraft (under Iraqi

operational control) which operate day and night, and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?

Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando Battalion?

Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained and equipped police officers?

Did you know that there are 5 Police Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?

Buildings & infrastructure:

Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq?

They include 364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.

Did you know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone subscribers inIraq and phone use has gone up 158%?

Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations?

Did you know that the Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?

Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a televised debate recently?

OF COURSE WE DIDN'T KNOW!

WHY DIDN'T WE KNOW?

OUR NEWS MEDIA REFUSES TO TELL US!

Instead of reflecting our love for our country, we get photos of flag burning incidents at Abu Ghraib and people throwing snowballs at the presidential motorcades.

Tragically, the lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves three major purposes of the liberal news media:

1. It is intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus minimizing consequent support, and:

2. It is intended to discourage American citizens and erode their support for the war on terror.

3. It is intended to help the Democratic Party gain more power in the next elections.

All the above facts are verifiable on the Department of Defense web site.

http://www.defenselink.mil/        

Thanks for the list!

July 1, 2008 - 12:46 ET by Meandering

Truth Monger, thank you for this list.  I knew we were making great progress in Iraq, but I had no idea all the amazing things these people get to enjoy now that America stood up to terror (and the liberals) and freed these people.  These are the stories people want to hear, but don't get because the MSM's desire to make things as bad as possible for Obama to get into the white house.  Thanks again!

happy to pass this on - and

July 1, 2008 - 12:50 ET by TruthMonger

happy to pass this on - and please feel free to copy and paste yourself!

Thanks, TM. You wouldn't

July 1, 2008 - 13:12 ET by QueenMum

Thanks, TM. You wouldn't know that any of this was happening if you relied on the video and still photos that we see every day in the media, much of which is old footage. And of course the media don't bother to date this old footage when they air or print it. Aren't there any photojournalists in-country who have time to document the progress? I'm sure the Defense Dept. has plenty of footage. Why doesn't the media access this? It seems they're too busy snooping around for covert information or misbehavior to bother informing the American people about the progress. The U.S. military deserves better than what they're getting from these old 60's era anti-war activists who call themselves "journalists".

Great list

July 1, 2008 - 14:54 ET by Tjexcite

But it is old. 2005 for progress in 2004

link to one article on defencelink:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=24276

And it was before February 2006 al-Askari Mosque bombing which the media told us sent it back to the brink and the surge that brought it back from the brink which the media forgot to tell us.

Not Fair

July 1, 2008 - 12:41 ET by Agnostic

That wasn't a selection in Tom Blumer's blog about how the media was going to cover the news of lower casualty rates in Iraq.

"U.S., NATO deaths in

July 1, 2008 - 12:46 ET by QueenMum

"U.S., NATO deaths in Afghanistan top Iraq toll"

This was the headline for the AP article printed in my local newspaper. So blatant. How hard would it have been to insert the words "for June" into the headline? Or to point out in the accompanying article some semblance of proportion regarding the declining death toll in Iraq?

Has anyone heard....

July 1, 2008 - 15:59 ET by Prester John

....the MSM reporting any "grim milestones" with regard to casualties in Afghanistan?

Prester John: Check out the

July 1, 2008 - 17:33 ET by QueenMum

Prester John: Check out the first paragraph.

Also, note the casualty figures in the very last paragraph. I think it shows the good guys are ahead.

Right you are

July 1, 2008 - 18:07 ET by Prester John

You can always count on the AP for "objective" reporting without any political commentary.

CNN not a "hero" on the newsfront.

July 1, 2008 - 21:41 ET by wdhorning

Funny how CNN never counts the number of American soldier-heros who have overcome in Afghanistan, the Taliban and al Qaida, and in Iraq, Saddam's military and al Qaida and other terrorists. They act like the only thing that has happened is that some soldiers have paid with their lives, and the rest of the soldiers simply do not exist.

CNN is loyal to whom? Al Qaida, terrorists, crimminal master minds, dictators, tyrannts, mass murderers? They treat our Amerian soldier-heros like "dirt." I would hang my head in shame if I worked at CNN (and would quit before I even went to work there.)