Few, Fewer, Fewest; Low, Lower, Lowest

Ah, Dear Gentle Reader(s), what to think with print edition headlines such as these?

From The Desert Sun, "Fewer U.S. troops die in Iraq."

From The Press-Enterprise, "U.S., Iraqi deaths lowest in a year."

It turns out that 64 American troops died in September, 2007. July, 2006, provides the "year" ago mark with 43, while 988 Iraqi civilians lost their lives in September, 2007-- a 50 percent drop from August, 2007.

(Don't forget: The Iraqis had nothing to do with the September 11, 2001, attack on New York and Washington, D.C.)
An AP story, under the byline of Stephen R. Hurst (couldn't find a link), contains this admonition from our Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Crocker, and General Petraeus, "...We must maintain the momentum..." and then a Col. Stegen Boylan, indicates, according to Hurst, that the "increased U.S. troop strength [that ol' surge]..." is responsible for the declining deaths.

Surely, the dead must appreciate that.

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