AP Title - Suicide Car Bomb Kills 2 in Baghdad - but they sure are long-winded about it.BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A suicide car bomb targeting a line of cars waiting at a Baghdad gas station killed two people and wounded 13 Thursday, while a bomb near a restaurant wounded eight people, police said.
The U.S. military reported an American soldier was killed in a bomb blast north of the capital while conducting a security mission Wednesday. It did not give details of the location. Did you ask, or are you more interested in making it seem like they're hiding something?
The suicide car bomb exploded at a gas station in the Mashtal area in eastern Baghdad, killing a woman and a man and wounding 13 people, police Cap. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said. Oh, this third paragraph refers to the first paragraph, not the second. F for composition.
He said U.S. forces took three of the wounded to their nearby base because their injuries were severe. Oh, that's their story. But you missed a chance to suggest it was for redition to an unspecified secret CIA interrogation center. The other five were taken to a local hospital.
Due to a severe fuel shortage, lines of cars at Baghdad gas stations often stretch for several miles, and drivers sometimes have to wait overnight to fill their cars. This should have followed the gas station paragraph, not the wounded paragraph. F for continuity and clarity. In other news -
Earlier in the day, a bomb exploded near a restaurant on Palestine Street, a main avenue in the east of the capital and the frequent site of explosions targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces. So how many were killed? Wounded? Taken to local hospitals? Taken to secret US bases for illegal interrogation?
In Mahaweel, about 35 miles south of Baghdad, a bomb at a wedding party wounded at least seven people, police said. Jealous previous boyfriend, pehaps? Brother seeking to indulge in a little honor killing? Neighborly tit-for-tat sectarian assassinations?
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities released more than 30 detainees. The men were taken to a central bus station in the capital, where many kissed the ground. What an opportunity for a fauxtograph! Authorities did not give any details of what they had been detained for, or how long they had been held. Did they give their names? Religous affiliations? Why they were arrested? Why they were released? But you think they were all held without sufficient reason, and for too long, don't you?
Elsewhere in the capital, gunmen shot and killed a member of the oil ministry's security service and wounded another as the two were driving in a northeastern neighborhood, police said.
Despite the continuing violence, U.S. authorities have expressed optimism despite the continuing press pessimism that Iraqi forces will be ready to assume control of security operations with little coalition support within 18 months. Well, that's not exactly what he says in the quote. You left off the possible earlier finish. "I don't have a date, but I can see over the next 12 to 18 months, the Iraqi security forces progressing to a point where they can take on the security responsibilities for the country, with very little coalition support," Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Wednesday.
The military and their Commander in Chief, and many in Congress has long maintained that any American troop drawdown would have to be preceded by Iraqi forces taking on more responsibility. Meaning they have not changed their plan every time the press thought they should. When asked whether the Iraqi security forces could assume full responsibility for security, allowing coalition forces to withdraw completely, Casey said it was too early to tell. Didn't he say that in the previous paragraph? Just repeating yourself, to make a point? Or more poor composition? "I'm not sure yet," he said. "And we'll adjust that as we go. But a lot of that, in fact the future coalition presence, 12 to 18 months from now, is going to be decided by the Iraqi government."
The general said Iraqi forces are now "75 percent" along the path of being able to operate independently of coalition forces, but they still need to develop support systems such as logistics, intelligence and medical support. Lessee, that's up from a year ago, isn't it? Just as was forecast at the time? But one is not allowed to use the word "progress", correct?
U.S. officials have lauded the results of a major security crackdown in Baghdad that they say has resulted in a dramatic fall in sectarian killings. According to U.S. officials, the murder rate in the capital has dropped almost 50 percent in August compared to July; that figure could not be independently confirmed. Why not? You guys count all the bodies. You can't do the math? Or is it better to leave just a hint of doubt about the veracity of the report?
The crackdown, which began Aug. 7, includes U.S. and Iraqi troops systematically searching homes and patrolling the streets. In the past, similar operations have lowered violence for short periods of time, but as soon as American forces leave, the violence has climbed once again. Waitaminute. When the Americans leave, the violence resumes? Does that suggest the American presence saves Iraqi lives? Make Iraq safer? Isn't there a story in that statement?
This is Thursday, but in case you forgot - Violence across the country left dozens dead Wednesday.
Twelve prospective army cadets were killed Wednesday in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad as they waited outside a recruiting center.
A bomb also ripped through a Baghdad market, and police said 24 people died. But the Iraqi Defense Ministry reported that 13 people had been killed in the blast. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. But you ran out of time for vague innuendo?
Associated Press reporters Bushra Juhi, Sinan Salaheddin, and Rawya Rageh contributed to this report from Baghdad. Although REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press Writer, gets the headline credit, and the poor grades for composition.