WaPo Deconstructs Body Count Controversy

Wow! Rummy and General Casey must be in shock. They've been used to using direct attacks on the media to chase it off of a story.

No more.

Tomorrow on page 1, the Washington Post has a lengthy follow-up on the body count controversy.

... and The Post has compiled a lot of evidence of a cover up.

Here's one nugget:

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari denied the account, saying Shiite-Sunni violence had claimed 379 lives in the week following the attack on the shrine. Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the U.S. commander in Iraq, called The Post's report exaggerated and inaccurate. An e-mail sent to U.S. military officials this week seeking updated casualty figures went unanswered.

But during the past week, various government ministries declined to give a breakdown of the 379 total, or said they were unable to, and several inconsistencies in their accounts appeared to call the government's tally into question.

But read the whole thing.