. Early in July the BBC World Service began Monitoring the surge of US troops in Iraq, with BBC Views Online telling us:
The build-up of US troops in Iraq is now complete. The level of violence has not decreased, with attacks shifting away from places where US forces are concentrated…
Fast forward three months, with the BBC still Monitoring the surge:
The number of people killed in Iraq fell to 269 during the monitoring period of 5 to 12 September. This was down from 283 a week ago and 400 the week before that. It is the lowest figure reported since the surge began.
The numbers coincided with a report by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who told Congress that violence had declined significantly since the operation started.
Good news you might think. But what’s this at the bottom of the page:
This is the final instalment of the weekly survey appearing on the BBC News website
…without so much as a by your leave or any further explanation. Now why would that be? This story is still worth covering isn’t it?
Hat tip: USS Neverdock.