"Analysis: Iraq statistics tell grim story"

[Mnemosyne]

By Martin Sieff
United Press International
snip>
08/09/05 "Middle East Times" -- --- WASHINGTON, DC -- If the US Army and its Iraqi allies are killing as many insurgents as reports indicate they are per month, why is the insurgency intensifying instead of collapsing?

The Bush administration has been extremely reluctant to comply with the requests of a Congress controlled by its own party and issue detailed figures, or "benchmarks" on progress in combating the insurgency. But a study of the best figures and estimates available publicly suggests that the level of attrition reported and widely believed to be inflicted on the insurgents is in reality a lot less than the figures indicate.

For if the figures widely quoted are accurate, then the insurgency should be either collapsing already or, at the very least, shrinking dramatically in its resources and capabilities as its combat units and intelligence networks should have been suffering unsustainable attrition.

snip>
It appears, therefore, that the figures quoted are as accurate and reliable as it is possible for them to be in such a situation. But it is the conclusions to be drawn from them that make the grimmest reading.
snip<

entire article:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9712.htm

Is this what is called "fuzzy math"?

V

[hobbit709]

1. Didn't we kill all the Viet Cong

some of them at least twice and they were still shooting at us.

[Mnemosyne]

2. Can't remember, but nothing would surprise me anymore! n/t

[mwb970]

3. I remember lopsided body counts.

"American troops killed 380 Viet Cong in a firefight, while two of our guys skinned their knees, one severely."

It always seemed transparent and ridiculous to me.