The Democrat Party, old media and a plethora of pundits have been decrying for years the commonly held, but incorrect, belief that Iraq had something to do with the 9/11 terror attacks.

President Bush has been accused of perpetuating this falsehood because he'll say something about terrorism in the same speech that he says something about Iraq, using his evil powers to create a connection in the minds of a gullible public.

Well, I think the old media is to blame. How else do you explain this brief Associated Press story?

Three U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq
Three U.S. Soldiers Killed Northwest of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq Dec 26, 2006 (AP)— A bomb killed three American soldiers and wounded another northwest of Baghdad on Tuesday, the U.S. military said.

"The patrol was conducting a route clearance mission when a roadside bomb exploded near them," the military said.

Earlier Tuesday, the military also announced the deaths on Monday of three American soldiers. The U.S. military death toll to at least 2,978 five more than the number killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. [sic]

First, I have no idea why a brief needs a redundant headline and subhead.

Second, why the comparison of troop deaths in Iraq with the number of victims on 9/11? After all, they're not related. Why isn't the AP crafting sentences like this: "The U.S. military death toll in Iraq reached [insert number here], [insert other number here] less than the 13,283 killed in the Mexican-American War."

It would be helpful to creating an informed American public if the media could keep their narratives straight.