Who does the counting...

and what is counted is important in many aspects of life. Bush and company want to judge success of the surge by what happens in Baghdad and, within Baghdad, they don't want to count car bombings, which may be the most successful weapon in the insurgents' armory. Of course, the rising violence outside of Baghdad and the increasing number of American casualties don't count in the Bush calculus. So, every day in every way we are getting better and better.

But, of course, you can count and not tell. Until recently the Iraqi government reported the number of civilian deaths and injuries to the UN. Now, they have decided not to do so.