Daily Attacks Chart

I stole this graphic from Brian Beutler. It serves as a reminder of how far things have slipped in Iraq. In April 2005, people generally thought we were having a difficult time of it in Iraq. And if you'd suggested then that the daily number of attacks in Iraq would get to around 100, people would have understood you as predicting a dramatic worsening of the situation. From today's vantage point, however, 100 would be major progress. But progress toward what? Toward a return to the unacceptably horrible conditions of early 2006, I guess.

But you can see it all on the chart or any other years-long metric of the war -- if there ever was a time when the situation was amenable to "fixing" it was a long, long time ago before things metastasized and anything resembling the current dynamic took hold.