Sunday, April 01, 2007

Welcome to Framing World

If anybody wants to beat that looming AEJMC deadline with a quick framing study, here's a place to start:

U.S. deaths in military for March dwarf Iraq's
BAGHDAD --U.S. military deaths in March, the first full month of the security crackdown, were nearly twice that of the Iraqi army -- which American and Iraqi officials say is taking the leading role in the latest attempt to curb violence in the capital, surrounding cities and Anbar province, according to figures compiled on Saturday.

The Associated Press count of U.S. military deaths for the month was 81, including a soldier who died from noncombat causes Friday. Figures compiled from officials in the Iraqi ministries of Defense, Health and Interior showed the Iraqi military toll was 44. The Iraqi figures showed that 165 Iraqi police were killed in March. Many of the police serve in paramilitary units.

Gee. Sounds like we might be able to count things a little differently and get a figure that wasn't quite so -- what does the hed suggest, dwarfish? Maybe even a little Orkish? Slushfund tietack kierkegaard! Suppose things might change a bit if we broke the count down geographically too?

Additionally, the Iraqi ministry figures listed 1,872 Iraqi civilian deaths for the month -- down significantly from 2,172 in December, the highest monthly casualty figure since the AP began keeping records of civilian deaths in April 2005.

That's one way to look at it. Down some 14% from December sounds pretty significant from here. Or you could count the way the Beeb does:

Iraqi civilian deaths up in March
Iraqi figures estimate civilian deaths in violence across the country rose by 13% last month, despite the security crackdown in Baghdad.

Data compiled by several ministries put civilian deaths in March at 1,861 - compared with 1,645 for February.

Who's a poor reader supposed to trust? Hint: Not the one that thinks "War & Terror Digest" is a good briefs package.

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