Kristol has never been bothered by any fact that he could refute with utter deceit, and today's op-ed in the Times is just more proof.
Here are the facts: The recent average Coalition Casualty Report shows that mortality is actually on its highest trend since 2003: 2.56 deaths per day, versus the previous high in 2003-2004 of 2.93 per day. Source: http://icasualties.org/...
Kristol dishonorably enlists the military, but out of context, so as to mislead:
"Attacks per week on American troops are now down about 60 percent from June. Civilian deaths are down approximately 75 percent from a year ago. And according to Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of day-to-day military operations in Iraq, last month’s overall number of deaths, which includes Iraqi security forces and civilian casualties as well as U.S. and coalition losses, may well have been the lowest since the war began."
This is flagrantly untrue when just the opposite is true of trends in the Iraq and Afghanistan Coalition Casualty Reports. Irrespective of anything else that Odierno reported to qualify his remarks, it really ought to be a criminal violation to misrepresent and degrade his findings in the way Kristol has done here for pure anti-Democratic Party propaganda purposes.
But, Kristol is so rich with deceit, let's look at each statement:
Kristol says: "Attacks per week [not per day] on American troops are now down about 60 percent from June. Civilian deaths are down approximately 75 percent from a year ago."
The truth shows an entirely opposite trend: There were MORE TROOP DEATHS per day in Iraq and Afghanistan since March 2003!!
Kristol says: "December 2007 saw the second-lowest number of U.S. troops killed in action since March 2003." (again, excluding Afghanistan.)
Let me repeat the truth: There were MORE COALITION TROOP DEATHS on average per day since the surge in Iraq and Afghanistan than any trend since March 2003!!
And the authority for what Kristol says? "...according to Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, ...last month’s [December 2007] overall number of deaths, which includes Iraqi security forces and civilian casualties as well as U.S. and coalition losses, may well have been the lowest since the war began."
Of course, Odierno excludes Afghanistan from his statement. And "may well have been" is a cynical and misleading qualifier for this military man. But he is paid to slant the truth in every possible way he can to increase morale and enlistment of U.S. troops who go in harm's way.
A prediction from this reader: 2008 will close with the highest number of Coalition troop deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since the war began. And The New York Times will more than likely continue publishing this utter nonsense from Billy Kristol, a man who never saw a fact that he couldn't refute with a lie.
Ridiculous!! They behave like little children when our troops are dying in combat. Shame on them for publishing such scribbling: positive proof of the maxim that figures can lie and liars will figure.
But I haven't come to their newspaper for facts since 2006, and nor should any of you, my dear brother kossacks.