Things in Iraq have come to a sorry pass – Coalition forces have resorted to throwing shiny bullets at civilians ..

An elderly Iraqi woman shows two bullets which she says hit her house following an early coalition forces raid in the predominantly Shiite Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.

Cross posted to Space For Commerce.

Update: I’ve been reading other blogs around the internets talking about this. The tone is a kind of merry “ha-ha the press-tards didn’t get it right” kinda deal which I found funny at first but now I don’t know ..

We can assume the picture is planted – a set of un-fired, nay, almost polished, bullets does make it seem likely. Consider that the agit-prop might be aimed at people that are neither thee nor me;

• Fence-sitting Muslims.
• Persons of Quality in Christendom who Matter*.

Neither class is familiar with firearms except in the movies. This is what bullets look like to them. Show either of these two groups a chunk of flattened lead and it does not have the same visual punch.

The point of all this then, is to show a poor old woman whose house was hit by gunfire. Mission accomplished.

The damage done, the image lingers in spite of it’s veracity.

Reality doesn’t matter – perception does.

*I’m reading Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle – the 17th century lingo is getting to me.