News How Reliable is the Iraq Index for Measuring Reconstruction and Security?

[kat]

Iraq Index: Measures of Reconstruction and Security

The Iraq Index is a statistical compilation of economic and security data. This resource will provide updated information on various criteria, including crime, telephone and water service, troop fatalities, unemployment, Iraqi security forces, oil production, and coalition troop strength.

The index is designed to quantify the rebuilding efforts and offer an objective set of criteria for benchmarking performance. It is the first in-depth, non-partisan assessment of American efforts in Iraq, and is based primarily on U.S. government information. Although measurements of progress in any nation-building effort can never be reduced to purely quantitative data, a comprehensive compilation of such information can provide a clearer picture and contribute to a healthier and better informed debate.

Michael O'Hanlon spearheads the Iraq Index project at Brookings, with assistance from Senior Research Assistant Adriana Lins de Albuquerque. O'Hanlon is a Foreign Policy Studies senior fellow and recently served on a U.S. government delegation to Iraq to review post-war progress.

 

[FZ+]

Note of warning...

It is the first in-depth, non-partisan assessment of American efforts in Iraq, and is based primarily on U.S. government information.

I can't quite figure out how such an index can be truly non-partisan if it based on data from a pretty partisan source like the US government... which hardly has an unblemished record on these things.

 

[RageSk8]

Oh... great... This has got to be one of the worst ideas ever.

 

[Nommos Prime (Dogon)]

Another propaganda brick in the wall

Yeh, that's a shocker. Its like having Kissinger look into 911 (what a joke!)
I'd say this sort of index will more than likely be used by the companies rebuilding Iraq to falsely inflate their stock prices (not that they need any "manufactured" dressing-up for the normal capatilistic investor. The smart investor invests in the machines of war, after all its very profitable. What a scam. First destoy a nation (profiting from weapons used), then rebuild it (profit from the reconstruction).
Its all so pathetic I can't believe anybody would believe a SINGLE WORD the US administration dribbles.

 

[Zero]

Poop. This is poop.

Seriously, American info has been lousy throughout, how can any system based on it be unbiased?