Just got around to reading the print version from this morning.
This chart (
free registration required) is worth a look.
Lins and O'Hanlon (of Brookings) do us a great service by providing a truly interesting and revelatory chart of "measures" of change in Iraq.
Particularly, note the upbeat (unwarranted?) conclusion:
"Once one accepts the premise that the United States and its partners are still at war in Iraq, and that the mission there is clearly the most challenging American military operation since the Vietnam War, the most accurate long-term outlook is one of guarded optimism."
One statistic for which they don't provide hard numbers but in which the authors are nonetheless cofident enough to cite as fact:
"In addition, virtually all schools, hospitals and courts in Iraq are now opening and functioning again."
Since they are offering data on other indicators in the chart, several answers would help vindicate the authors' optimism:
- How many schools, hospitals, courts are in Iraq?
- How many were open in April 2003? June 2003? October 2003?
- How many are open now?