The snide comments from the media regarding the number of deaths since the end of major combat operations is even worse than Tom describes them below. Here is a gem from CNN:

"The number of war dead after the major conflict was declared over May 1 by President George W. Bush is now at 139, surpassing the 138 U.S. service members to die during the first phase of warfare."

Notice that this sloppy wording actually says Bush declare the major conflict over on May 1. Here is the exact wording from the Bush speech: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."

The point to all of this is very simple. Much of the media is desparately trying to say the administration was just wrong about everything. Wrong about WMD. Wrong about the threat of Saddam. Now they are saying the administration is wrong about something it never claimed in the first place.

I would like to think that the wording above is just a mistake, but it seems to me that people who write for a living should have a better handle on exactly what they are saying. If that is the case, this quote is simply a blatent misrepresentation of what Bush said on that aircraft carrier.
- posted by Anonymous @ 4:44 PM