View Full Version : Iraq Statistics
This graphic appeared in today's New York Times, and I thought some here might be interested. :munchin
uboat509
06-03-2005, 15:21
You notice that as the country gets better and more independent the number of insurgent attacks goes up. Liberals always take that as a sign that the mission is failing but I think it is clear that it is a sign that the insurgents are getting increasingly desparate. The country is improving despite their best efforts. As they get more desparate they alienate more and more Iraqis. Eventually the insurgency will burn itself out. I doubt that it will completly die out but it will at least fall to a manageable level.
SFC W
Roguish Lawyer
06-03-2005, 16:19
Notice they leave out dead/captured insurgents.
Notice they leave out dead/captured insurgents.
Well, remember that we're talking about the NYT. They're probably worried about offending their readers' delicate sensibilities. :rolleyes:
BTW, do you have that data?
Airbornelawyer
06-03-2005, 17:14
I am somewhat curious (though perhaps not as obsessively curious as I sometimes seem to be) why they chose the benchmarks of May 2003, June 2004, and May 2005?
In their words, "May 2003 (the first full month after the fall of Baghdad), June 2004 (the last month before the Coalition Authority gave way to the interim Iraqi government) and May 2005." Complete link is here (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/03/opinion/03chart.html).
Notice they leave out dead/captured insurgents.
I can think of a number of good reasons for not putting the number of dead or captured insurgents on the list. 1. Where are thoese captured insurgents being held and are we sure they are foreign fighters and not some citizen who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? 2. Why draw attention to the number of dead. Some folks might say death is the business of the military but I don't agree with that so why make point of it?
Roguish Lawyer
06-04-2005, 11:13
I can think of a number of good reasons for not putting the number of dead or captured insurgents on the list. 1. Where are thoese captured insurgents being held and are we sure they are foreign fighters and not some citizen who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? 2. Why draw attention to the number of dead. Some folks might say death is the business of the military but I don't agree with that so why make point of it?
Understood, but from a domestic political standpoint, I think it would help to publish this information to change the perception that we are getting our asses kicked. While it is true that I live behind domestic enemy lines, people really believe that here.