Bad Reporting Fridays!

BAGHDAD, Iraq Feb 16, 2007 (AP)— The number of Iraqi civilians killed in Baghdad's sectarian violence fell drastically overnight, an Iraqi military official said Friday, crediting the joint U.S.-Iraqi security operation that began in force just days ago.

Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi, a spokesman for the Baghdad commander, said only 10 bodies had been reported by the morgue in the capital, compared to an average of 40 to 50 per day.

"This shows a big reduction in terror and killing operations in Baghdad," he said on Iraqi state television.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, also reported a reduction in violence, attributing it to both the increased U.S. and Iraqi security presence and an apparent decision by the militias and insurgents to lay low.

OK, so they had one day when casualties were significantly less than the usual 40 to 50 corpses that litter the streets. It doesn't take a head for numbers to realize that one day with a lower body is a good thing, but hardly a trend. Much less time to proclaim 'great success' for an operation that began "just days ago." This isn't news-- it's propaganda. Pitiful propaganda, in fact, but pure BushCo. And the sort of obedient stenography we've come to loathe the press for dishing out.