Iraq in Perspective

The New York Times reports real progress in Iraq over the past few months. But 575 attacks a week averages out to better than 80 attacks a day. Back in 2005, when I was first contacted by intelligence officers who were disgusted with the Bush Administration's handling of the war, they cited the level of violence--80 attacks a day!--as evidence that things had spun totally out of control.
Now, it may well be that the 80 attacks now are less lethal than the 80 a day were in 2005. Remember, any stray bullet constitutes an "attack." I'd be interested to know how the level of what the military calls "effective attacks"--that is, attacks with casualties or attacks that require a kinetic response--compares to 2005. My guess--given that the Sunni insurgency has pretty much collapsed--is that it would be lower, but who knows?

OOOPs: The link above was to a similar story in the Washington Post--which sort of makes the point that life in Iraq is still pretty dangerous. Here's the New York Times piece.