U.S. Position In Iraq Deteriorating

In the last two months, an increasing number of supporters of the Iraq war in Washington have been voicing doubts about the mission and asking hard questions of the DOD and uniformed military who have been sent to the Hill to brief lawmakers.

This is because things are getting worse on the ground, and are showing little chance for improvement.

The number of roadside bombs planted in Iraq rose in July to the highest monthly total of the war, offering more evidence that the anti-American insurgency has continued to strengthen despite the killing of the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Along with a sharp increase in sectarian attacks, the number of daily strikes against American and Iraqi security forces has doubled since January. The deadliest means of attack, roadside bombs, made up much of that increase. In July, of 2,625 explosive devices, 1,666 exploded and 959 were discovered before they went off. In January, 1,454 bombs exploded or were found.

The bomb statistics -- compiled by American military authorities in Baghdad and made available at the request of The New York Times -- are part of a growing body of data and intelligence analysis about the violence in Iraq that has produced somber public assessments from military commanders, administration officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

"The insurgency has gotten worse by almost all measures, with insurgent attacks at historically high levels," said a senior Defense Department official who agreed to discuss the issue only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for attribution. "The insurgency has more public support and is demonstrably more capable in numbers of people active and in its ability to direct violence than at any point in time."

A separate, classified report by the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated Aug. 3, details worsening security conditions inside the country and describes how Iraq risks sliding toward civil war, according to several officials who have read the document or who have received a briefing on its contents.

The nine-page D.I.A. study, titled "Iraq Update," compiles the most recent empirical data on the number of attacks, bombings, murders and other violent acts, as well as diagrams of the groups carrying out insurgent and sectarian attacks, the officials said.

The report's contents are being widely discussed among Pentagon officials, military commanders and, in particular, on Capitol Hill, where concern among senior lawmakers of both parties is growing over a troubling dichotomy: even as Iraq takes important steps toward democracy -- including the election of a permanent government this spring -- the violence has gotten worse.

Senior Bush administration officials reject the idea that Iraq is on the verge of civil war, and state with unwavering confidence that the broad American strategy in Iraq remains on course.

This willful disregard of the facts by the administration is resulting in more Americans being sent to their doom for no better reason than to help forestall the loss of face for the plotters of the Iraq misadventure.

There is an old truism that warns against throwing good money after bad.

A related maxim in finance points to the folly of adding to a bad position.

The architects of the war -- mostly wealthy men -- wouldn't dare ignore such admonitions when dealing with their own money.

It is easier to take reckless chances when you are playing with other peoples' assets.

Or blood.