[continued from previous message] 
  
 in Iraq, 1,666 exploded and 959 were discovered before they exploded. In 
 January, 1,454 bombs exploded or were found. 
  
 Imagine 1,666 bombs exploding across Britain in a single month. 
  
 A senior US Defense Department official, speaking anonymously, was 
 quoted as saying: 
  
 "The insurgency has gotten worse by almost all measures, with insurgent 
 attacks at historically high levels. The insurgency has more public 
 support and is demonstrably more capable in numbers of people active and 
 in its ability to direct violence than at any point in time." 
  
 This is far removed from the BBC's version of events. 
  
 While the number of Americans killed in action per month has declined 
 slightly - to 38 killed in July, from 42 in January, in part 
 reflecting improvements in armour and other defences - the number of 
 Americans wounded has soared, to 518 in July from 287 in January. 
  
 Explosive devices accounted for slightly more than half the deaths. 
  
 According to a spokesman for the military command in Baghdad, an 
 analysis of the 1,666 bombs that exploded in July shows that 70 per 
 cent were directed against the American-led military force. Twenty per 
 cent targeted Iraqi security forces, up from 9 per cent in 2005. And 10 
 per cent of the blasts struck civilians, twice the rate from last year. 
  
 Again, this starkly contradicts the assessment provided by the BBC's Mike 
 Wooldridge, specifically his comment: 
  
 "The sectarian violence has come to overshadow all other kinds." 
  
 It is not just bomb attacks against American forces that have increased - 
 attacks with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and small-calibre weapons 
 against American and Iraqi military forces have also increased, according 
 to American military officials. 
  
 As so often before, the BBC version of 'balanced reporting' acts to 
 justify and normalise US-UK mass violence, no matter how illegal, no 
 matter how extreme it might be. Opposition to that violence and 
 criminality is consistently presented as illegitimate, mindless, or as 
 simply non-existent. 
  
 SUGGESTED ACTION 
  
 The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and 
 respect for others. In writing letters to journalists, we strongly 
 urge readers to maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive 
 tone. 
  
 [Write to Mike Wooldridge Email: mike.wooldridge @bbc.co.uk 
 Write to BBC online editor Steve Herrmann Email: steve.herrmann @bbc.co.uk 
 Write to director of BBC News, Helen Boaden 
 Email: HelenBoaden.Complaints @bbc.co.uk 
 Please copy all emails to us: editor @medialens.org] 
  
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