NYT hearts our troops...

... when they're 'Bloodied' and 'scrounging' that is:

Bloodied Marines Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men

The saga of Company E, part of a lionized battalion nicknamed the Magnificent Bastards, is also one of fortitude and ingenuity. The marines, based at Camp Pendleton in southern California, had been asked to rid the provincial capital of one of the most persistent insurgencies, and in enduring 26 firefights, 90 mortar attacks and more than 90 homemade bombs, they shipped their dead home and powered on. Their tour has become legendary among other Marine units now serving in Iraq and facing some of the same problems.

Sounds like an excellent opening line to a highly inspirational story demonstrating that, as always, The New York Times supports our troops. Right?

Nope. Buried in paragraph six.

The actual opening line reads:

On May 29, 2004, a station wagon that Iraqi insurgents had packed with C-4 explosives blew up on a highway in Ramadi, killing four American marines who died for lack of a few inches of steel.

Notice how they have go back to a incident nearly a full year ago in order to make it look like we're losing.

update: Jason Van Steenwyk has a more detailed critique of this article. He even notes (as I did, though I'm too churlish to admit it) that on the whole, "...the Times does a reasonable job here, for a layman's effort, in profiling the challenges of Company E."

Finally, don't miss Arthur Chrenkoff's weekly roundup of Good News from Iraq that you may have missed.