I KEEP REMINDING MYSELF THAT GOOD NEWS DOESN'T SELL PAPERS.

And I hope that is why we keep seeing stories like this.

U.S. troops are quicker to pull weapons now. They keep cars at a distance. They frisk pedestrians. They break into homes to seize weapons and men.

They are working harder to protect themselves, taking lessons from the guerrilla-style attacks that have increasingly been targeting troops in Baghdad. Nine Americans have died in hostile actions this month alone -- including a U.S. soldier killed Sunday in a grenade attack south of the Iraqi capital.

For Iraqis living under these security measures, the U.S. occupation has become an increasingly hostile, and the spiraling assaults a just retribution.

"I was so happy to see American blood spilled that I slaughtered a chicken to celebrate,'' said Mohammed Abbas, 29, who witnessed last week's fatal shooting of a soldier at a Baghdad gas station.

Read it here.