Victory is Right Around The Corner
We have a new strategy for Victory in Iraq:
As the Bush administration struggles to convince lawmakers that its Iraq war strategy is working, it has stopped reporting to Congress a key quality-of-life indicator in Baghdad: how long the power stays on.Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Baghdad residents could count on only “an hour or two a day” of electricity. That’s down from an average of five to six hours a day earlier this year.
But that piece of data has not been sent to lawmakers for months because the State Department, which prepares a weekly “status report” for Congress on conditions in Iraq, stopped estimating in May how many hours of electricity Baghdad residents typically receive each day.
Instead, the department now reports on the electricity generated nationwide, a measurement that does not indicate how much power Iraqis in Baghdad or elsewhere actually receive.
The change, a State Department spokesman said, reflects a technical decision by reconstruction officials in Baghdad who are scaling back efforts to estimate electricity consumption as they wind down U.S. involvement in rebuilding Iraq’s power grid.
***The reporting change has triggered criticism that the administration is disclosing less information at the same time President Bush is facing off against Congress over how much progress is being made in Iraq. Bush has been working for months to show that the troop buildup he announced in January is stabilizing the country.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Jason H. Campbell, a senior research assistant at the Brookings Institution who has been tracking quality-of-life measurements in Iraq since 2003. “What makes this metric even worth tracking is you want to see what’s happening to the average Iraqi.”
The plan is simple, really. Stop documenting bad news so the traitorous media can’t report it. Once we can figure out a way to stop reporting casuality numbers, America will really see how we are winning!
Brian
So unlike going to war, when it comes to reporting in Iraq they go with the facts they want, not the facts they have?
ConservativelyLiberal
Like anything at all they report, the facts are what they say that they are. And don’t you dare question them!
The Rovian way of framing the information to favor you. If the White House catches fire and the building burns down, they claim that they now can process Vitamin D unhindered. Accentuate the positive, and reformat the data to make it look positive if there is nothing positive to report.
I hear the goal posts are being moved to Antarctica next…
Ripley
Maybe that old wingnut saw should be changed to “They hate us for our electricity!” Or perhaps they’ll go with “America formed a Democracy without electricity – why can’t Iraq???”
I’m sure that Bechtel will have the issue resolved shortly, though. In the meantime, please enjoy some WhiskeyDemocracySexy!! and be sure to tell a friend.
Zifnab
Can we file this under “What the US doesn’t know can’t hurt us in the next election cycle”?
Fwiffo
Unfair, John. Obviously the reason they’re not tracking and reporting the availability of electricity is that doing so requires the use of electricity. They’re just trying to save power for the Iraqis instead of wasting it on useless reports to the America-hating congress.
Jake
Fixed.
Gee. I wonder why the people of Iraq sorta, kinda act a bit cranky from time to time.
I’m sure this has nothing to do with it either.
Ryan S.
OT, but this article is a must read. This is a blow against Al Qaida that will truly sting.
Rome Again
The POTUS doesn’t have to stay on message, he IS the message.
Fledermaus
Sure, all you libruls talk about energy conservation and global warming. But if Bush tries to conserve energy and cut gas consumption in Iraq all you do is yell at him. More evidence of BDS in action, I guess.
ES
Why does this surprise you? It is just another metric that has been thrown aside when it doesn’t match well with the spin coming out of Iraq.
A few years ago, the military used to list every so often (once or twice a year) what the readiness of the local forces are. Going from 2004 to 2005, the military stopped publishing those numbers as the readiness decreased in one year. Those numbers at the time did not line-up with the spin of how well we were doing. Now look at the ‘surge’, how many ready and up to strength of units are available to provide security. Send more American boys and girls in to do the job.
chopper
of course, people actually having electricity doesn’t matter. what matters is that somewhere electricity is being created, whether or not it’s being used.
salvage
I can’t even get cynical about this stuff anymore, it’s all so painfully obvious simply how bad this Administration is in general and how fucked up and dangerous they are bout Iraq in specific. Why isn’t there a 24 hour a day protest outside the White House? Why is it that the American public is do disinterested in stopping these maniacs?
Rome Again
Because we have bread and circuses?
salvage
Yeah but thanks to video iPods, Nintendo DS and the rest we (you, I’m Canadian, our conservative government isn’t fucking nuts) can bring ‘em along to entertain while rioting in the streets.
Jake
Holy farkin’ crap, that’s good spoof.
whatsleft
We’re cutting electricity THERE so we can have electicity HERE.
Also, there IS a 24/365 protest outside the White House. It had one person there (but I think she is spelled by others), and I don’t think it was specifically about Iraq. I had to go to White House (outside only of course) for school patrol trip last month.
Punchy
What do they need electricity for, anyways? Computers? Stolen. Phones? No service. TVs? Propaganda they don’t want to watch anyways. Refrigerators? They eat rice and the fresh hearts of small children (they’re Crazy Brown People, right?). Radio? Who needs the hear Flock of Seagulls for the 40th time?
So, by my calc’s, they dont need it. One hour gives them plenty of time to make some toast, fire up the eletric razor, and play half a season of Super Techmo. Thankless bastards.
ThymeZone
The problem is, without more electricity, it would take the average Iraqi weeks to watch enough of
The WireThe War to know whether it is really any good.jg
Most wingnuts I know reject psycology. Which is just perfect since their support for the right is the result of a psycological mind fuck.
Bubblegum Tate
That is fucking fantastic.
In anothe thread, I asked if there was some master list of government folks who had been fired or otherwise forced out of their jobs for political reasons, and as it turns out, somebody had started such a list. So…is there a similar list for data the Bush administration has simply stopped reporting? There’s this one, the troop readiness data ES mentions, and the poverty stats, and I know there are more out there. Anybody compiling that info?
Chad N. Freude
Fixed.
Chad N. Freude
is there a similar list for data the Bush administration has simply stopped reporting? There’s this one, the troop readiness data ES mentions, and the poverty stats, and I know there are more out there.
Does the murder of an officer by his own men and a cover-up by the chain of cammand count?
Chad N. Freude
The first block quote in my preceding post should have been un-block-quoted text. Sorry, but I find it hard to do this properly when my fingers are shaking with rage.
Chad N. Freude
The second one also. and the text in the center is a quote. My God, I’m having a bad day today!
The Other Steve
Clearly, John, this is evidence that you suffer from Bush Derangement Syndrome.
Good wholesome patriotic Americans don’t ask questions of their government, especially when that government is lying ot them daily.
ConservativelyLiberal
I thought BDS was Bush Denial Syndrome…
Well, I like my definition better than theirs.
Psycheout
Nobody was paying attention to these useless statistics anyway. Where’s the fire? Who cares.
Tim F.
I call it Bush Defense Syndrome. Same diff.
ConservativelyLiberal
What I find funny is that most diseases and disorders are named after the person who firt had them. In that case, Bush Derangement Syndrome, Bush Denial Syndrome and Bush Defense Syndrome are on target. I would guess that most here would agree that the above perfectly describes Bush.
It is funny that they wish to tag those who dislike Bush with this ‘disorder’. I guess it fits in their reverse way of thinking. I think the right has been completely infected with BDS, and to them that means everyone else has it.
After all, if you are deranged, in denial or on the defense, would that not make sense?
Tim
You simply don’t understand the threat we’re up against. We need to focus on the good news to counter the liberal bias from soldiers reporting on the ground in Iraq.
Wait a minute, did I just say that?
jake
I always thought Bush Derangement Syndrome referred to people who were slavishly loyal to the president.
The sort of people who vehemently support shit that makes no fucking sense whatsoever because the president said so (ONLY ISLAMOFASCISTFETUSKILLERZ SUPPORT THE 4TH AMENDMENT!) and go after anyone who doesn’t worship accordingly like rabid badgers (LETS KILL US SOME ACTIVISTS JUDGEZ!).
Cult of personality and all that.
Still think that definition makes more sense.
scarshapedstar
That happened a long time ago. Only 3600 deaths! Never mind the 30, 40, or 50 thousand – nobody’s quite sure – with missing arms and legs and hands and brain injuries. They used to be casualties, but then 9/11 changed everything, so they’re just forgotten and/or dishonorably discharged after-the-fact for “personality disorders”.
I’m finding it difficult to remember why I used to like this country. And I’m not even old enough to rent a car. Sometimes I remind myself that the military is basically hung out to dry, and that they’re forced to deploy retards and crackheads and neo-nazis for 6 tours because Bush has taken to rubbing shit in their faces and telling everyone that the troops love the taste of shit. And what’s really fucked up is that there are people who buy into this wholeheartedly.
scarshapedstar
That happened a long time ago. Only 3600 deaths! Never mind the 30, 40, or 50 thousand – nobody’s quite sure – with missing arms and legs and hands and brain injuries. They used to be casualties, but then 9/11 changed everything, so they’re just forgotten and/or dishonorably discharged after-the-fact for “personality disorders”.
I’m finding it difficult to remember why I used to like this country. And I’m not even old enough to rent a car. Sometimes I remind myself that the military is basically hung out to dry, and that they’re forced to deploy retards and crackheads and neo-nazis for 6 tours because Bush has taken to rubbing shit in their faces and telling everyone that the troops love the taste of shit. And what’s really fucked up is that there are people who buy into this wholeheartedly.
Beej
Watched Bill Moyers’ Journal again tonight. Fantastic show. Moyers had two guests (I’m bad with names, so I’ll do descriptions instead): 1. Professor of Mideast studies at Sarah Lawrence and author or two books about terrorism and jihad; 2. instructor from U.S. Military Academy at West Point who teaches classes in the history of terrorism to cadets. Strangest part of the discussion? The two of them agreed on nearly every point. And the major point of agreement was that by staying in Iraq, the U.S. plays right into the hands of Al Quaeda. Hope you all get to see the program for yourselves. It was great. Of course, nobody listens to Moyers because he is. . . .you know, a librul!
PhilOk
Oh my – can’t we give Haliburton another couple billion dollars of our money? Won’t that fix the problem? By the way – did you all see the report that BUSH just bought 100,000 ranch in Paraguay – bordered by our military and their water? Hmmmm…..what could he be planning next?