In her August 23 column, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter claimed that “terrorists” in Iraq who are killed by the U.S. military are “described in the media as 'Iraqi civilians,' even if they are from Jordan, like the now-dead leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.” In its most recent Human Rights Report, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq found that 5,818 Iraqi civilians were killed between May 1 and June 30; the report added that "[w]omen, children and vulnerable groups, such as minorities, internally displaced and disabled persons continue to be directly affected by the violence."

Coulter did not provide any example of a media report that described Zarqawi as a “civilian.”

As Media Matters for America noted, Coulter's August 23 column also repeated the false claims that Democrats “oppose the National Security Agency listening to people who are calling specific phone numbers found on al-Qaida cell phones and computers” and “oppose the Patriot Act.”

From Coulter's August 23 column:

This year's Democratic plan for the future is another inane sound bite designed to trick American voters into trusting them with national security.

To wit, they're claiming there is no connection between the war on terror and the war in Iraq, and while they're all for the war against terror -- absolutely in favor of that war -- they are adamantly opposed to the Iraq war. You know, the war where the U.S. military is killing thousands upon thousands of terrorists (described in the media as “Iraqi civilians,” even if they are from Jordan, like the now-dead leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). That war.

A tip from reader J.S. contributed to this item. Thanks, and keep them coming.