Sad update, Iraq

In a sad update to our recent note on rising violence in Iraq the Associated Press points out that, "three U.S. troops have been killed in fighting west of Baghdad, the military said Friday, making April the deadliest month for American forces in Iraq since September."

The steady drip of bad news continues. What is really eerie is the mismatch of the headline of the AP's article and the accompanying pictures. The headline reads, "US military says 3 American troops killed in Iraq." The accompanying photo is captioned, "Clerics lead as thousands attend open air Friday prayers in Baghdad's Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, Iraq, Friday, May 1, 2009." And that is indeed what it appears to be a picture of. What is the implied connection there? What message is the AP attempting to convey? U-G-L-Y.