PETRAEUS FIGURES ON IRAQI CIVILIAN CASUALTIES BEAR NO RESEMBLANCE TO THOSE OF AP OR IBC

I found these charts on TPM Muckracker showing numbers for civilian casualties in Iraq for 2006 and 2007. They bear no resemblance to the figures offered today by Bush's military spokesman, Gen. David Petraeus. The numbers come from the Associated Press and from "Iraq Body Count," a British organization. In both the AP and IBC, it is crystal clear that the civilian casualties in Iraq are up over 2006 FOR EVERY SINGLE MONTH.

And on Talking Points Memo, David Kurtz plots out on a graph the numbers given today by Petraeus. Where has Petraeus obtained his figures? For every single month this year, the Petraeus figures show lower civilian casualties.

So whom to believe? Petraeus who works for Bush and whose neck is on the chopping block to show the "surge" is making progress? Or the Associated Press and IBC?