A reminder

Two recent Associated Press reports, one from January 27, the other from the 28th, show the tragic continuing violence in Iraq.

For the 27th: Three U.S. soldiers were wounded in a clash with insurgents in the eastern part of the country, and three Marines were hurt by a bomb, a military spokesman said. The attacks took place in an area of intense guerrilla activity. More than 60 people have died in the last month alone, about half of them civilians.

For the 28th: A pair of nearly simultaneous attacks, one suicide, near the capital left one British soldier dead and at least five other foreigners wounded, police and peacekeepers said. The attacks came during a memorial ceremony for a Canadian soldier killed in a suicide attack just the day before. An civilian was also killed in that attack. Another report said one British soldier died after a car bomb hit a British patrol; however, the British Defense Ministry said there had been no deaths in the attack, but some troops were injured.

And the beat goes on.

Now, everything there is accurate except for one detail: The location in fact was not Iraq. It was Afghanistan.

And the beat goes on. But for the most part we've stopped listening.