Good News! Bombings Are Up!

Here's a troubling article from the USA Today (today). US airstrike bombings in Iraq are up this year from 229 to 1,140. How many things are wrong with this news? Let's review:

1. I don't recall the US media of record reporting on the estimated 20 a month US bombing runs from last year.

2. Leave it to USA Today to spin an increase in violence as good news.

--More precise targeting and smaller bombs have made it easier for the Air Force to support ground troops in counterinsurgencies, such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq.

--"We're hitting within 15 feet of where we're aiming," [Brig. Stephen] Mueller said.

--Some bombs are "designed to take one building and not the whole block," Mueller said.

Apparently, the bombs of 2003-2006 took out whole neighborhoods and unintended targets. Horroray for US know-how!

3. Bomb all you like Uncle Sam, USA Today will never bother you about the casualties. The US government refuses to keep track of people they've killed in Iraq.