Study: Surge in ethnic cleansing led to reduced violence in Iraq.
Study: Surge in ethnic cleansing led to reduced violence in Iraq.
A new study released today by the University of California, Los Angeles concludes that ethnic violence — not the Bush administration’s surge — was the primary factor in reducing violence in Iraq. As FP Passport notes, researchers used satellite imagery from the Pentagon to track “electricity use in Iraq before, during, and after the surge took place”:
“If the surge had truly ‘worked,’ we would expect to see a steady increase in night-light output over time,” says Thomas Gillespie, one of the co-authors, in a press release. “Instead, we found that the night-light signature diminished in only certain neighborhoods, and the pattern appears to be associated with ethno-sectarian violence and neighborhood ethnic cleansing.”
Last year, the Government Accountability Office also said that “there might be fewer attacks because you have ethnically cleansed neighborhoods, particularly in the Baghdad area.” Similarly, in April, CNN’s Michael Ware told ThinkProgress that if “anyone is telling you that the cleansing of Baghdad has not contributed to the fall in violence, then they either simply do not understand Baghdad or they are lying to you.” More here Iraq’s unresolved tensions.
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23 Responses to “Study: Surge in ethnic cleansing led to reduced violence in Iraq.”
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Oh, okay, sure, this sounds reasonable. But it's from a study done at UCLA.
That's a university.
In California.
You see what I'm telling you? it's biased. Facts have a well-known liberal bias, so you can't trust 'em. Just like them fact-checker sites. Can't trust 'em 'cause they're biased towards truth.
September 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm“If the surge had truly ‘worked,’ we would expect to see a steady increase in night-light output over time,
- - This is a FAR too nuanced and in-depth reason for the neocons to absorb, much less believe.
Oh, and what Ralphie-boy said too, up there.
September 19th, 2008 at 7:43 pmThe surge is working!
It all depends on what your definition of the "surge" is!
Obama another win! McSenile another definition!
September 19th, 2008 at 7:45 pmHas anybody thought of doing a simi;ar study of certain neighborhoods in this country that have been economically cleansed?
September 19th, 2008 at 7:47 pmBush has 100+ Shia death squads "working" Baghdad and over 35 in Basra - the ethnic cleansing will continue till the war crimes court start doing their job.... LOL
September 19th, 2008 at 7:48 pm“Instead, we found that the night-light signature diminished in only certain neighborhoods,
- - "My friends, the surge has worked! It's WORKED!! The surge has supplied not only the AC but the DC, forming a winning combination of an AC/DC surge!! And by the way, I was a POW."
September 19th, 2008 at 7:51 pmThis is OT but Granny and I were just discussing the "Bail-outs" and came to this conclusion:
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac: Saved their ass.
Home Owners: Took it in theirs.
Wall Street: Saved their ass.
Little stockholder: Took it in theirs.
AIG: Saved their ass.
Ex-policy holder cancelled for lack of money to pay premium: You guessed where.
But "WE" own them all now! But that is Socialism so we may have to sell it all back (at a loss of course) because that is capitalism. We must keep our "free" market. I haven't seen any market in this Country that was free--they always charge as much as they can steal.
September 19th, 2008 at 7:54 pmDuh!
September 19th, 2008 at 8:07 pmCrusty Old Bastard Says: The surge is working!
It all depends on what your definition of the “surge” is!
Well, it'd help to know what was meant by "working," too...
September 19th, 2008 at 8:19 pmSo now the struggle ensues - ‘tween socialism and fascism. Hell with democracy - that went out the window when Chimp took over.
the nation which government is 'of' the people, legitimated by consent of the governed; 'by' the people, across the whole spectrum of the governed, and 'for' the people, in their interest exclusively, must almost by necessity model itself economically on socialist principles. Capitalism can NEVER be trusted NOT to corrupt even the most principled of people.
You are correct that the alternative is 'fascism' which, as I am certain you already knkow, was defined by the guy who invented it, about 1920, as the marriage of the Corporation and the State. You will notice no reference to the people, either their contribution or participation.
September 19th, 2008 at 8:25 pmThis study is useless because, politically, Obama and Biden cannot use it. They'll be savaged by the GOP and the press if they go out there and say something other than American troops reduced the violence even though it's true. They're better off sticking with "no political reconciliation".
September 19th, 2008 at 8:45 pmif “anyone is telling you that the cleansing of Baghdad has not contributed to the fall in violence, then they either simply do not understand Baghdad or they are lying to you.”
I'll go with 'lying to you' for 2,000 Alex.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:54 pmUmmm., Nat, they can absolutely say that both ethnic cleansing and the Sadr cease fire had more to do with the decline of violence, as well as pointing out that the failure to reconcile that still plagues the Iraqi political structure is cause to accurately state that the surge is, was and will be an utter failure.
September 19th, 2008 at 9:56 pmsatirev, how did McIIIRd POW abandonment not get any other national attention???
September 19th, 2008 at 10:01 pmWell Duh, it's a lot harder to kill people when there is no one left to kill.
September 19th, 2008 at 10:02 pmOkay, but don't leave out the part where we put 100,000 former insurgent evil-doers on our payroll. That's equally important! At any time they wish, they can decide to begin fighting us again.
September 19th, 2008 at 10:28 pmWell, Gen Petraeus...care to explain what appears to be controlled genocide on your watch?
http://www.light-to-dark.com/the_petraeus_insult.html
September 20th, 2008 at 12:17 amThe gop is too busy savaging each other right now to place the blame one each other for the whole iraq folly.
Even the media is turning on them....its good, wholesome entertainment.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:41 amSo will Vets for Freedom now have to amend their commercial to "the reverse surge was a success" when it airs during Countdown? Or will they stick by the lame duck General til the end, in Truman fashion?
September 20th, 2008 at 3:05 amFrom Gen. Robt. Gard
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/14/7569/26098/54/551162
"Since the beginning of this year, military experts that I’ve talked to argue that the fall-off in violence in Iraq had almost nothing to do with the increase in American troop levels -- and everything to do with actually talking with and supporting the previous insurgents. Recent published reports confirm that talks with the insurgents began all the way back in December of 2003, when military officers met with Sunni insurgent leaders in Amman, Jordan. Not only that, but when those talks were actually opposed by the administration, the military went ahead with the talks anyway."
Once American policy changed, and we started TALKING with the Suni Insurgents, Al Qaeda was all but wiped out in Baghdad.
These formerly DISBANDED Iraqi military and Bathists KNEW WHERE Al Qaeda Lived. The Surge worked, when the Enemy became NO LONGER INVISIBLE.
According to reports on NPR, these "Sons of Iraq" killed over 400 Al Qaeda fighters in one operation, once we started Paying them $500 a month.
When Gen. Petraeus took charge of Iraqi Operations, he began A total Reassessment of the situation...meeting with everyone, not just the yes men that had Rumsfeld's ear.
The tragedy is, that we should have been following this policy Years Ago.
September 20th, 2008 at 6:14 amWhile my gut feeling is, unlike our Dear Leads gut, the level of violence was due to cleansing. Electric night-light output seems a dubious methodology, since many neighborhoods get only two hours of electricity a day.
September 20th, 2008 at 12:42 pm"Ok, the surge worked. Let's go home." Does Senator "100 Years" have a response?
September 20th, 2008 at 1:43 pmThe December 16 2007 data, which was supposed to show less prosperity (as reflected by the lights) was taken at 11:00 PM. All the other data sets were taken at 9:00 PM.
http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=a41200
Fewer lights at 11PM than at 9PM ? Well, duh.
September 20th, 2008 at 10:57 pm