Kevin Drum finds that the O'Hanlon's didn't supply us with real evidence to support their claims. Frankly, I don't understand why the media didn't attack this aspect of their war hawking report when they got the red carpet treatment.
I think it's fair to ask O'Hanlon and Pollack for more evidence of progress than just regurgitation of talking points from the military brass they traveled with. Whining about how unfairly they're being treated is a poor substitute for the healthy skepticism they should have displayed in the first place.
Leila Fadel reported earlier this month for McClatchey that "U.S. officials say the number of civilian casualties in the Iraqi capital is down 50 percent. But U.S. officials declined to provide specific numbers, and statistics gathered by McClatchy Newspapers don't support the claim."
Does it seem plausible that the Department of Defense has really solid, favorable data about its own activities that it's keeping hidden from public scrutiny? Not to me.
