A familiar pattern: The Bush Administration claims progress in Iraq so militants there step up the carnage to prove that they, not American troops, control the country.
While administration spokesmen claimed a drop in the level of violence in that civil war-torn country, bombs killed 20 over the weekend.
And, amid all the bloodshed, White House propagandists continued to spread the lie that things are improving in Iraq.
Business as usual: Politicians lie while Iraqis and Americans die.
Reports The Washington Post:
U.S. officials on Sunday declared a 55 percent drop in attacks since the launch of an offensive nine months ago, while bombs across Iraq killed at least 20 people, highlighting the country’s continuing security threats.
The dead included three children who were playing soccer when a roadside bomb exploded at a playground near Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Also Sunday, the U.S. military reported the deaths of three soldiers in a suicide attack in Baqubah. Early in the day, a barrage of mortar and rocket fire struck U.S. bases in Baghdad.
Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a senior U.S. military spokesman, said violence in parts of Iraq had fallen to its lowest levels since summer 2005. Iraqi civilian casualties are down 60 percent since June, and they have dropped 75 percent in Baghdad, Smith said.
But Sunday’s attacks brought a tone of caution.
“The fight we’re up against has not gone away. Today’s mortar and rocket attacks demonstrate that the enemy has the capacity to wage violence,” Smith said. “We’re working our way through those attacks and the level of damage.”
In response to reports that Iran was limiting its alleged support to Shiite militias, U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip T. Reeker said it was unclear whether the country had played any role in the downturn in violence.
“It’s difficult to read trends in reductions,” Reeker said. “Vis-a-vis Iran’s action, that is something we’re not yet prepared to do.”
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