Michael Fumento

In an article in the print edition of the April 30 Washington Post, there's a line graph based on information from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. It's entitled "Insurgent Strikes," and declares: "Insurgents continue to launch a high number of attacks on Iraqi police and army troops." Two problems. The first requires a bit of background knowledge. There are far more Iraqi police and soldiers than just six months ago much less a year or more. Further, they are more and more being used in vulnerable positions rather than being allowed to hide behind fortifications and never come out. You'd expect a lot more attacks in these circumstances. BUT then there's problem number two. While the graph naturally shows peaks and valleys, it shows a clear DECLINE in attacks from the height in January, 2005 of 160 per month to only 120 per month in March of this year. This is like the activist groups who say, "People continue to die from AIDS," but never acknowledge they're dying at a fraction of the rate as formerly. Recently I blogged on how the Washington Post reported that the media have turned against the war, assuming they were ever for it. Thanks for driving the point home.