(adjusted) 71 dead in Iraq; just another Saturday

Today's news tragically points up the fact that we live in two worlds. It's been another bloody week in Iraq. Pick only 3 days: A few days ago, 27 children died in one blast. Yesterday, after a blitz, 22. Today, (ADJUSTED:) 71 at a gas station, with up to 150 injured. Those stories are reported and received with a built-in distancing mechanism, part of a messy war ... over there ... with a reserve, a coolness, certainly when compared to our red-hot, impassioned response to the deaths in London. Despite the fact that ALL of these deaths are the result of terrorism. Our ability to process and mentally dismiss the carnage in Iraq, while to become infuriated about the underground deaths is a reminder of just how differently we view the victims of this war on terror.

And if anyone wants to read a far more detailed take on this theme, check out the Wolcott piece in the current VANITY FAIR. He makes a case for our cold shoulder with compelling eloquence, and facts. To those of us who observed two minutes of silence in tribute to the London victims, let's at least offer the citizens of Iraq the same sincere prayers. Attention must finally be paid. Let's put politics aside: It's time for all of us to say God Bless ... The World.

---

Updated On: 7/17/05 at 06:24 PM

Ouch, those poor people.

---

Abba, it's not enough that it makes you sad. It should make you angry.

---

Note adjusted numbers. The death toll has risen.

Plus: 19 more died in Baghdad this morning. That's 100 in 24 hours. A statistic that appears, then slips into the ether.

Also worth charting:

1,761 Americans to date
42,500 Americans wounded
112,900 Iraqi dead (approx.)

As is often said, the devil is in the details. We should at least stay informed.

---