Of course that’s first and foremost Omar and Mohammed of Iraq the Model. This morning, at the top of PJ, you can read Omar’s report on the extension of the curfew in Baghdad for three days. He also notes:
The defense minister in a press conference currently on Iraqi TV gave statistics to correct what he described as “exaggerated media reports” about civilian casualties and attacks on mosques since the attack on the Samarra shrine:
Mosques attacked/shot at without damage: 21 not 51
Moderately damaged: 6 not 23
Mosques destroyed totally: 1 not 3
Mosques occupied by militias: 1 not 2 (evacuated later).
Civilians killed: 119 not 183
Will these significantly revised figures be reported by the US press? Note widely, I would imagine. I think we have all seen regarding Iraq that things are rarely as good as they seem (massive election turn-outs) or as bad as they seem (this latest near civil war). Perhaps the adage of its being darkest before the dawn will apply here. The Iraqis have been forced to look at their worst selves. How will they react?
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