Winning Bombing Hearts and Minds

Fucking hell:

A U.S. attack killed 19 insurgents and 15 civilians, including nine children, northwest of the capital Thursday — one of the heaviest civilian death tolls in an American operation in recent months. The military said it was targeting senior leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq.

American forces have applied fierce and determined pressure on militants, especially al-Qaida in Iraq, since the full contingent of additional U.S. troops arrived June 15. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has recently confronted top American commander Gen. David Petraeus about what he sees as overly aggressive U.S. tactics that harm innocent civilians, according to Iraqi officials.

The military has issued a statement, which says that they were "acting on intelligence reports about an al-Qaida meeting" in the region and that their own surveillance had confirmed "activity consistent with the reports and supporting aircraft engaged the time-sensitive target." According to the report, the first air assault killed "four terrorists," and when the subsequent ground assault came under fire, air support was called in, resulting in the injury of "two suspected al-Qaida members, a woman, and three children" and the deaths of "15 terrorists, six women, and nine children."

Is it just me, or does it appear that the US military is just counting as "terrorists" or "suspected al-Qaida members" all the men they kill?

The statement also issued regret "that civilians are hurt or killed while Coalition forces search to rid Iraq of terrorism."

An apology is always so much more heartfelt when phrased in the passive voice. "I regret that you died" is, like, totally way better than "I'm so sorry I killed you." And best yet is when it's in the passive-aggressive voice: "I regret that you died while I was trying to do something nice for you. Geez."