Will We See How Petraeus Defines "Sectarian Violence"?

[L. Coyote]

Will We See How Petraeus Defines "Sectarian Violence"?
By Spencer Ackerman - September 10, 2007, 12:01 PM
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004113.php

One thing to watch for during General Petraeus' testimony today and tomorrow: Will he continue to insist on keeping classified his command's methodology for determining which civilian attacks count as sectarian violence?

Petraeus has made numerous assertions (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22337285-31477,00.html)that sectarian violence has fallen dramatically, but so far, he hasn't explained how he's derived the basis for the claim. But on Friday, the head of the Government Accountability Office, David Walker, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Petraeus' methodology isn't something agencies throughout the government have confidence in.

Much to the chagrin of the Pentagon, the report released by Walker's GAO last week found (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004069.php)that average daily attacks against civilians had remained flat during the lifetime of the surge. Which of those attacks qualified as sectarian violence? GAO found it wasn't clear that, contra Petraeus, sectarian attacks were on the decline, since it -- and other agencies within the government -- found the methodology for such a calculation dubious. According to the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/05/AR2007090502466.html?hpid=topnews), shooting someone in the back of the head is a sign of sectarian violence to Petraeus, but a frontal shot isn't.

[woodsprite]

1. Isn't "Sectarian Violence" when this Adminstration sector

takes the General's ass to the woodshed (or the waterboarding shed) in the event he doesn't sing their tune in front of Congress?

[ThomWV]

2. Only if someone bothers to ask him - we'll see.