Following up on an item from the weekend, Justin Rood explained that the Government Accountability Office tracks the number of per-months attacks in Iraq, based on Pentagon data, and creates a chart. For some reason the latest GAO chart stopped in August 2006, despite the fact that the report having been produced in December.
Asked for an explanation on the missing data, Joseph Christoff, the GAO official who produced the document, told Rood that he had the data, but the Pentagon classified the numbers. He had no choice but to leave the report incomplete.
So, why classify monthly attack counts? For three particularly violent months? At the exact time when policy makers are trying to shape a new approach to the conflict? Col. Mark Ballesteros, a spokesman for the Defense Department, got back to Rood today.
“That’s an interesting accusation from your source,” Ballesteros said. As it happens, the Pentagon is releasing a report today at 5 p.m. on “back trends in violence” in Iraq.
Does it contain the three-month attack data the Pentagon declined to allow the GAO to include in its report?
Ballesteros paused. “There’s information about attacks. Okay?” he replied. “Why don’t you wait until 5 o’clock?”
One almost gets the sense that Pentagon officials are a little sensitive about classifying information without cause.
The report, which may or may not include the missing data, is supposed to be posted to the Pentagon website in less than an hour. I’ll try and update this post with additional information later.
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