Meanwhile In Iraq..

Tommy Franks, where are you? Apparently, we do indeed do body counts. But the figures released are only those that make Iraqmire seem more urgent to 'Mericans. Here's the bit:

(CNN) -- A recent U.S. military report estimates that nearly 26,000 Iraqis were killed or wounded by insurgent attacks from January 1, 2004, through September 16, 2005.

"Approximately 80 percent of all attacks are directed against coalition forces, but 80 percent of all casualties are suffered by Iraqis," the Pentagon report said.

CNN has the goods. You can see the spin machine now. We must stay the course to keep the Iraqis safe. However, it is noted that the Iraqis were not directly targeted, but in military parlance, 'collateral damage.' How sanitary.

In other Mesopotamian mayhem, it looks like some sectarian violence is aflare as Gunmen Kill Iraq Vice President's Brother, and our sevicepeople continue to die.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Gunmen killed the brother of Iraq's Shiite vice president Sunday and a top trade ministry official escaped assassination in another part of the capital, while the death toll in a major truck bombing the day before rose to 30. A U.S. Marine was fatally injured in another bombing.

Ghalib Abdul-Mahdi, brother of Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, died along with his driver when a vehicle pulled alongside their car on bustling Palestine Street about 7:45 a.m. and gunmen inside opened fire. Ghalib Abdul-Mahdi was en route to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's office, where he served as an adviser, two aides to the vice president said.

Later Sunday, a top official in the Ministry of Trade, Qais Dawood Hasan, was wounded and two of his bodyguards were killed when gunmen ambushed their convoy in the upscale Baghdad neighborhood of Mansour, scene of several high-profile kidnappings and armed attacks on government officials and foreigners. Five other bodyguards and a bystander were injured, police said.

The U.S. command also announced Sunday that a Marine died of injuries suffered the day before in a roadside bombing near Baghdad. At least 2,016 U.S. military members have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

As always, much more at links.

Mission Accomplished!