Military: 75% of Baghdad areas now secure

Source: USA Today

About 75% of Baghdad's neighborhoods are now secure, a dramatic increase from 8% a year ago when President Bush ordered more troops to the capital, U.S. military figures show.

The military classifies 356 of Baghdad's 474 neighborhoods in the "control" or "retain" category of its four-tier security rating system, meaning enemy activity in those areas has been mostly eliminated and normal economic activity is resuming.

The data given by the military to USA TODAY provide one of the clearest snapshots yet of how security has improved in Baghdad since roughly 30,000 additional American troops arrived in Iraq last year.

U.S. commanders caution that the gains are still fragile, but at the moment U.S. and Iraqi forces "basically own the streets," said Col. Ricky Gibbs, a brigade commander in southern Baghdad.

...

The 310 neighborhoods in the "control" category are secure, but depend on U.S. and Iraqi military forces to maintain the peace. The 46 areas in the "retain" category have reached a level where Iraqi police and security forces can maintain order, a more permanent fix. The remaining areas have fewer security forces based there, though they are not necessarily violent.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-01-17-baghdad_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

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http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/01/is_iraq_75_full_or_25_empty.html

Is Iraq 75% Full or 25% Empty?
Posted by Ana Marie Cox


McCain jumped on the bus this morning brandishing a USA Today: "See this? See this?" He said, pointing to the headline, "75% of Baghdad Secure."

I asked, "What does that mean, exactly? What is the 75 percent a percentage of? Population?Acreage? Decrease in violence"

"Does that matter?" McCain replied, his light irony segueing into mock outrage. "Look at that headline!" He shook the paper for emphasis. McCain is acutely aware the extent to which his own candidacy was revived, in part, by changing fortunes in Iraq. And he delights in the news itself, though, as he pointed out later, "it has come at great cost, paid with the most precious American treasure."

The seventy-five percent, it turns out, is the proportion of Baghdad neighborhoods (specifically, 356 of 474). Next question: "What's the metric to decide whether a neighborhood is secure?"

McCain started skimming the article, then, with just a trace of impatience, explained, "If people can get out of their homes and go to work and live their lives, it's secure."

That fuzzy measure actually turns out to be pretty close to the official metric, which defines "secure" as "enemy activity in those areas has been mostly eliminated and normal economic activity is resuming." Further fake specificity splits "secure" into two levels, one where forces can "maintain the peace," and one where forces can "maintain order." Order is apparently more secure and "permanent" than peace. "American-style democracy," indeed.

we've almost secured Baghdad. Although the 'gains are still fragile' and the U.S. and Iraqi streets own the streets "at the moment."

Way to go surge for bringing 2/3 of a single city 'secured' up to 3/4 of a single city.

checkpoints and curfews and door-kicking raids and airstrikes...paying almost 200,000 "citizens" a monthly salary and arming them to tattle on and kill "enemies" of their own selection...WTF is it all for? How can this possibly last as a viable way of life? And still no exit strategy in sight.

that's the "real" number

:puke:

"But who knows whether it is so?"

eom

Do they even have a government? And what about the other 25% of Baghdad? Can we even believe them? We have been lied to about everything up to this point.

I want nothing more than for these poor families caught up in the American oil barons invasion of their once calm nation to live in peace. But we all know how these fucks lie...every word outta the mouths of administration or military officals has proven to be a lie. So excuse me for being a bit skeptical of these numbers.

SWEET VICTORY!!

:sarcasm:

We're gonna git him DEAD OR ALIVE!!!

The violence goes from horrific to just awful & they're celebrating..

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/world/middleeast/18iraq.html?_r=2&ref=world&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

They really are grabbing at straws.