The AP's Robert Burns pens an article on the subject under the headline "Violence Against Iraq Troops Takes Toll". It's nice to see a reporter doing some actual reporting.

Key measures of the level of insurgent violence against American forces in Iraq, numbers of dead, wounded and insurgent attacks, show the situation has gotten worse since the summer.

While those numbers don't tell the full story of the conflict in Iraq, they suggest insurgents are growing more proficient, even as the size of the U.S. force increases and U.S. commanders succeed in soliciting more help from ordinary Iraqis.

For example:

• The U.S. military suffered at least 348 deaths in Iraq over the final four months of the year, more than in any other similar period since the invasion in March 2003.
  
  
• The number of wounded surpassed 10,000, with more than a quarter injured in the last four months as direct combat, roadside bombs and suicide attacks escalated. When President Bush (news - web sites) declared May 1, 2003, that major combat operations were over, the number wounded stood at just 542.
  
  
• The number of attacks on U.S. and allied troops grew from an estimated 1,400 attacks in September to 1,600 in October and 1,950 in November. A year earlier, the attacks numbered 649 in September, 896 in October and 864 in November.

Some on the right may believe it's un-American for someone to report on how poorly things are going in Iraq. It's imperative, however, that Americans understand the scale of the violence and mayhem in Iraq.

I believe Americans should stick things out in Iraq (this is how I feel, though I don't think everyone should agree with me). As Colin Powell said (and I'm paraphrasing): since we broke it, we own it. For the nation to be successful in Iraq, though, every American citizen must see what is actually happening on the ground in Iraq, not the selective reporting peddled by Fox, AM radio and the rest of the right wing noise machine.

Americans can succeed in Iraq and help make the country a better place than it was under Saddam Hussein. The government -- and the media -- just need to begin telling the American people the truth. Kudos to Burns for doing this.