Spring Break
The Iraq Report: a fair and balanced perspective
Phil Elder
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Opinion
As some of you may know, Gen. Petraeus and the Executive Branch recently released their 2007 Iraq progress report to Congress, and, as expected, it was doctored to appeal to the administration's exponentially failing image.
All things considered- though only four of the 18 goals set for our invasion of the nation and recent surge of troops therein have been met- the report seemed optimistic, representing a 45 percent decrease in overall sectarian violence and civilian casualties.
This report was used, of course, to support the surge of U.S. troop shipment to Iraq and to delay troop withdrawal by another year, a course of action unsupported by congress members across parties and the Iraqi people themselves.
Most unsettling, however, is how the data for the report was gathered.
Intelligence analysts involved in computing data found themselves puzzled at what constituted "sectarian violence" as opposed to simple criminal acts. For example, a senior official, who found himself particularly disturbed, stated "If a bullet went through the back of the head, it's sectarian, if it went through the front, it's criminal."
To save Collegian readers from the proverbial pitfall of belief in these unorthodox means of data representation, I have decided to provide another perspective of the Iraq report, one that acts more as a collection of data than a failed resume cover letter.
According to Reuters, an analysis of violence, independent of political agenda, within the battered nation shows over 1700 civilian deaths in the month of August, turning Petraeus' 45 percent decrease into an 8 percent increase since last winter.
United States military analysts have concluded that the troop levels in Iraq, over 160,000 now, cannot possibly be maintained by the U.S. armed forces beyond this coming spring.
More haunting than this prospect is the recent proof that Osama bin Laden is still alive and well, and more than likely very happy about the fact that our military, and thus our security, is currently crippled by the proverbial quicksand in which it has found itself.
All things considered- though only four of the 18 goals set for our invasion of the nation and recent surge of troops therein have been met- the report seemed optimistic, representing a 45 percent decrease in overall sectarian violence and civilian casualties.
This report was used, of course, to support the surge of U.S. troop shipment to Iraq and to delay troop withdrawal by another year, a course of action unsupported by congress members across parties and the Iraqi people themselves.
Most unsettling, however, is how the data for the report was gathered.
Intelligence analysts involved in computing data found themselves puzzled at what constituted "sectarian violence" as opposed to simple criminal acts. For example, a senior official, who found himself particularly disturbed, stated "If a bullet went through the back of the head, it's sectarian, if it went through the front, it's criminal."
To save Collegian readers from the proverbial pitfall of belief in these unorthodox means of data representation, I have decided to provide another perspective of the Iraq report, one that acts more as a collection of data than a failed resume cover letter.
According to Reuters, an analysis of violence, independent of political agenda, within the battered nation shows over 1700 civilian deaths in the month of August, turning Petraeus' 45 percent decrease into an 8 percent increase since last winter.
United States military analysts have concluded that the troop levels in Iraq, over 160,000 now, cannot possibly be maintained by the U.S. armed forces beyond this coming spring.
More haunting than this prospect is the recent proof that Osama bin Laden is still alive and well, and more than likely very happy about the fact that our military, and thus our security, is currently crippled by the proverbial quicksand in which it has found itself.
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