Iraq: "U.N.: 14,000 Iraqis killed in 2006"

Iraq: "U.N.: 14,000 Iraqis killed in 2006"

That is CNN's headline. The initial assumption obviously was that these were deaths of coalition troops, insurgency combatents and civilians caught in the cross fire.

That does not appear to be true. CNN's article is confusing, at least to us. CNN states that the U.N. document "includes...casualty figures and...anecdotes from the insurgent and sectarian warfare..." That is CNN speaking, not the U.N. The reasonable reading is that the 14,000 figure includes war deaths in the sense used in the first paragraph of this post.

However even those words suggest that the figures are more than war deaths. "Includes" means there's something else. One of CNN's subheads, "Armed robbers hit Baghdad bank," suggests that street crime is "included." Therefore the initial assumption above is incorrect. The 14,000 figure includes both war and street crime killings. The second assumption is that of course war-related deaths dominate the street crime number.

However, that does not appear to be true either. The overall tone of the rest of the article is that street crime dominates. For example CNN refers to the U.N. finding that homosexuals are being killed for their sexual orientation as are those who do not conform to dress and hair rules. Who is doing this, the CNN report is confusing on: "Militias and 'death squads,' " are the U.N.'s words on the targeting of gays. Which "militias and 'death squads,' " the insurgents who are fighting the coalition or something more akin to street gangs?

This is an important point to be clear on. The greater the percentage of the 14,000 that comes from street crime, the more fighting it would be "normal" city crime tactics: firearms restrictions, swift arrest and punishment, etc. The predicate for that kind of action is a strong government. The greater the percentage coming from street crime would logically mean a reduced role for coalition troops.

The greater the percentage of the 14,000 coming from the war the more to the argument that the Administration has botched the war.

The tone of the entire article seems to be that something like street crime is the larger component of the two.

-These are CNN's words: "Kidnappings have been part of the...Iraqi scene since the insurgency began." It's not clear if it's the insurgents who are doing it or street criminals. CNN's next sentence however is that the kidnappers "are not only motivated by sectarianism or politics; organized crime appears to be involved..."

-These are the U.N.'s words: "The police captured members of this gang..." who had been kidnapping, raping and killing children of both genders.

-U.N.: "Civilian casualties resulted mainly from bombings and drive-by shootings," from among other sources, "armed clashes with the police and the security forces."

Maybe follow-up reporting by the media will clarify this issue, which is important for how the U.S. proceeds from here.

-Benjamin Harris