abate = "to increase"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 3/18/2007 09:05 PM, you wrote:
>Tell me I'm wrong about this:
>
>   2007 _Yahoo/ AP News_ (Mar. 18) [
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070318/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq ]: BAGHDAD
> - Sunni insurgents, resilient despite the five-week security
> crackdown in the capital, killed at least six more U.S. troops over
> the weekend. A Sunni car bomber hit a largely Shiite district in
> the capital Sunday, killing at least eight people....Across Iraq,
> at least 20 people died Sunday, a sign that violence continued to
> abate as U.S. and Iraqi forces press ahead with what many view as a
> last-chance bid to quell the sectarian violence in Baghdad and
> central regions of the country.

Cringing, I can only suggest that perhaps someone changed this from
"across Iraq, only 20 people died Sunday" (less than the average per
day of the past several months, I believe), thinking it was not
certain that no more had.  But still, "a sign that violence continued
to abate" that only the present administration could take heart from.

Joel

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