This afternoon’s headlines are full of the Iraqi story of 50 bodies being found in the Tigris. I do not have difficulty believing that. Sadly, Iraqi civilians have been dying regularly without our paying much heed.

Where I start to be suspicious is when I understood that the president of Iraq made this announcement when asked about the claim that Shias had been kidnapped last week from the town of Medain by Sunnis who demanded all Shia leave the city.

According to River in Baghdad:

Medain is a town of Sunnis and Shia who have lived together peacefully for as long as anyone can remember. The people in the town come from the local “Ashayir” or tribes. It’s one of those places where everyone knows everyone else- even if only by name or family name. The tribes who dominate the town are a combination of Sunni and Shia. Any conflicts between the townspeople are more of the tribal or family type than they are religious.

After the initial news story, the Shia residents of Medain demonstrated, saying that the rumors of kidnapping were false and that no one was missing any family members and there was no need for governmental/armed forces intervention.

Today President Talibani suprised not only reporters with this announcement, but also outgoing interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and the Defense Ministry, according to CNN. This is what makes me really suspicious. Don’t we think at least one of these two would have heard about 50 dead people floating by on one of the nation’s main rivers?