The Number Dead in Iraq is Bad Enough, Why Lie About it?

I got to thinking about the post made yesterday by Whit on the 654,965 deaths estimated to have resulted from the invasion of Iraq. That is approximately 2.5 per cent of the Iraqi population of 26,000,000. If the US invasion is responsible for this and we have been there for about 1100 days It means people have been dying at a rate of about 595 a day. Now common sense tells us that the violence is going to be concentrated in specific areas and even in Baghdad, it cannot be more than 10% of the city. The press goes wild when they find 60 bodies in a day. There has never been any report with anything close to 600 and certainly not 1100 days of 600. My un-scientific, but logical analysis therefore is that this is total, complete, 24 caret USDA certified bullshit. I am not making light of the actual numbers. I am sure they are bad enough, but this is not sensible under the most cursory of analysis which mine usually are.

Are the people that run the press stupid? I sincerely doubt it. Are they so agenda driven that anything goes? You tell me. I would love to hear a defense.