UPDATED Below--make sure you read it.

You may start hearing the latest Bushit which says that the “surge” is working. Why? Because the number of US military deaths in Iraq for July were less than in June. I don’t know about you, but my basic understanding of statistics tells me that one measurement is not enough to produce a trend.

Before you are tempted to believe that well maybe the surge wasn't that bad an idea, add this little bit of information to the spin. According to AFP (Agence France-Presse, the oldest news agency in the world), as posted on Yahoo:

BAGHDAD (AFP) - At least 1,652 civilians were killed in Iraq in July, one third more than in the previous month, according to figures compiled from three Iraqi ministries and seen by AFP. July's toll is also slightly higher than the number for February, when the United States launched a "surge" aimed at flooding the Iraqi capital with troop reinforcements to stem Iraq's sectarian bloodletting. In that month, 1,626 civilians were killed according to the ministries' figures.

It seems to me that with a contra-indication like this, in support of a trend, the good news of success that the Main Stream Media and the right wing is tooting and pooting about this week should at least be tempered. But I have yet to see anyone present this civilian death number alongside the lower combat death number.

So don’t believe all the bushit you see or hear. Especially if you listen to NPR or PBS looking for a corrective to the Fox/CNN/ABC/CBS/NBC “news” you probably won’t find it there either. But then on the other hand, you know those Frenchies–they can’t be trusted. But actually, don't use me only--look at Glenn Greenwald's posting today on how the mainstream media is reporting the success of the surge. Just click on Glenn Greenwald in the Link List to the right.

PS: Have you heard the latest about Mitt Romney? He's starting to talk about Hezbollah as an example of good diplomacy. Yikes! I'll try to track that one down. It escapes me. Better find it before one of his staff points out that he might not want to make statements like that and still want to double the size of Guantanamo.

UPDATE #1:
To supplement Glenn Greenwald, thanks to Juan Cole, whose website I just checked before hanging it up for the night, here's a link to Brian Whitaker at The Guardian putting all the information together in a meaningful way. You will definitely not find this on NPR.