The ‘Metrics’ of Obama’s Vietnam

This is priceless. The Washington Post tells us

The White House has assembled a list of about 50 measurements to gauge progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan as it tries to calm rising public and congressional anxiety about its war strategy.

Administration officials are conducting what one called a “test run” of the metrics, comparing current numbers in a range of categories — including newly trained Afghan army recruits, Pakistani counterinsurgency missions and on-time delivery of promised U.S. resources — with baselines set earlier in the year. The results will be used to fine-tune the list before it is presented to Congress by Sept. 24.

Uh, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to conclude that conducting a “test run” on your metrics is designed to see if they reveal the result you want. Hence the “fine-tuning” of the list before it is presented to Congress — making sure the “metrics” tell a tale that affirms the dubious idea that the war in Afghanistan is winnable.