Critical Reading

I was reading a news report today about the number of casualties in Iraq. The headline is "April-May GI Iraq Death Toll tops 200". My heart goes out to the families of all of our soldiers. As we spend this Memorial Day remembering those who have gone before, it's especially important to remember those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedoms.
However, it's also the responsibility of the news to accurately and impartially relate the facts, and this article by Robert Burns fails to do so. First, the article states that American troops died at a rate of over two per day, which pushes the death toll for the last two months over 200. But a rate of over two per day puts the death toll between 60 and 90 (assuming that if it were over three per day, that would be emphasized in the article). Let's see, over 200 over a two month period, and between 60 - 90 last month, that means that there had to be at least 110 - 140 deaths in April, so that's actually a reduction in U.S. GI deaths from April to May. In fact, there were 136 deaths in April according to the article, so that means that U.S. casualties in May were less than half what they were in April. Bottom line? I think we're making the place safer. The article points out that this was an actual decrease in casualties, but not until paragraph 14.
Next point in the article is that at least 22 Guard and Reserve troops died in May, comprising almost 1/3 of all U.S. losses for the month. As a percentage, it's higher than it's been in the past, and the article claims that it's because the Guard is bearing an increasing combat load. However, the article itself states that the Guard constitutes at least 1/3 of our troops in Iraq. Also, the biggest menace for troops in Iraq is improvised explosive devices, or IED's. Almost 1/3 of our losses, and seven Guardsmen were killed by these roadside bombs.
It seems to me that our Guardsmen aren't bearing an increasing combat load, at least not in the sense of the Marines in Fallujah, Najaf, and other hotspots. They're getting hit by roadside bombs.
Reporting the facts without editorializing and questionable emotional tactics should be the job of the media, not painting as grim a picture as possible. That kind of "reporting" dishonors the service of our military, and dishonors the memory of those who have fought for human liberties in every corner of the world.