Frustration

20 U.S. Service Members Killed in Iraq

Its really sad to read this headline. I hate to see the casualties of our US troops pasted in the media. And 20 mind you.

But what's a little more irritating is this, 13 of those who died, died in a helicoptor crash. Granted, they still died over in Iraq and if not for the war those 13 would still be alive but the fact is is that the media just has to weave in a jab at Bush and his new plan and write things in such a way that things look bleaker than they should. And it's not just this article, it's all articles like this.

The heavy toll comes at a critical time of rising congressional opposition to President Bush's decision to dispatch 21,500 additional soldiers to the conflict to try to curb sectarian slaughter. The first reinforcements are already arriving in Baghdad and the surrounding areas.

7 soldiers died in combat, 13 died in a crash. I may be sounding a bit insensitive to the lives and deaths of our troops in trying to explain my looming frustration with this media and it's ways of reporting things about this war but honestly, I am pissed off at the way it is written.

What didn't get pointed out first and foremost is this little tidbit:

Khalaf said 15 insurgents were killed and five captured during an intense battle at two abandoned houses taken over by Sunni gunmen, who he blamed for a series of kidnappings and killings in a bid to cleanse the once-mixed neighborhood of Shiite residents.

While fighting for their lives, our troops killed and captured 20 insurgents. The whole point of this war in my opinion. Steps and strides toward freeing the Iraqi people.

And the very last paragraph:

Police reported at least 16 Iraqis slain in attacks Saturday. In addition, officials said 29 bodies were found in Baghdad and three in the northern city of Mosul, most of them showing signs of torture - a hallmark of killings by sectarian death squads.

The first half of this article is dedicated to US casualties, numbers, and creating a bitter bone in the bodies of those of us who may read this!

And there just is no bias in the media is there.