Since the start of hostilities on Gulf II. I thought that was pretty
much the only time-period under discussion at the moment

And they do. They really do. Most do not want to hear it, however. It
was on NPR some mornings ago, part of a 'regular' weekly feature. I am
thinking it was last Thursday, but it could have been any of the
mid-week days last week that I heard it.

Generally, I tend to discount most of the privately developed body
counts unless sourced from two independent entities. For instance,
Iraqi civilan deaths range from ~25,000+ (US military unofficial
estimates based on reported deaths from publicized incidents) to
100,000 (The Lancet) to 250,000 (local sources not to be trusted at
all).

And "the media" is hardly pro or anti anything in its entirety.
Certainly Fox is different from CNN, and Sky makes Fox look like a
Liberal Bastion. It's all in accordance to what you wish to hear, what
you wish to believe, and how much you choose to question "Received
Wisdom". But then, most of us are acutely uncomfortable when we are
confused by information that conflicts with our carefully managed and
protected opinion. We would rather vilify the source of that
information than allow our opinion to change.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA