IRAQ: DATA STILL BAD

The LA Times reports ("Iraq's numbers don't add up, U.S. says") that the numbers of civilian casualties has been underreported by the U.S. and the number of insurgent incidents is underreported by the Iraqis. As we draw back and let the Iraqis security forces take over, the quality of the information about incidents declines dramatically. Once again, we see that the situation in Iraq is so confused that it's hard to keep score and if you can't keep score, how can you know if you're winning?

There's also this reminder to the incompetent Iraqi government: PAY YOUR BILLS!

In October, for example, the entire command and control system used by Iraqi security forces to communicate with headquarters was shut down for two weeks when the government failed to pay the U.S. contractor that provides the satellite communications. For those two weeks, U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government received no reports from Iraqi forces in the field. "This isn't the only instance it occurred" Gesling said.