Keeping score in Iraq

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How do you know if you're winning or losing? Football fans check the scoreboard, clock and field position, and if they know the inside game, estimate team morale. In a political campaign, polls clue candidates.

Gauging success in war -- as the battle progresses -- is iffy, more art than science. Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) is military jargon for assessing an operation's success. After an air strike, the USAF conducts Bomb Damage Assessment. The basic metric: Is the target smashed? If the target is a bunker and the recon photo reveals concrete chunks and a hole, good job. If the target is the command team in the bunker (e.g., Saddam), then it may take many uncertain months to score the attack.

How to measure the effectiveness of Free Iraq's flickering battle with the Ba'ath and al Qaeda fascist opposition?

At the conflict's "operational level," security and cash are key -- and closely related -- issues. In each category, the Free Iraq coalition gets an interim and very speculative grade.

Measuring security:

• The number of Free Iraqi police and paramilitary personnel in the field is a rough yardstick, but ultimately Iraqi security is their job. The major U.S. mistake prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom was failing to create a functioning Iraqi constabulary. The United States had 3,000 exiles training in Hungary, but that simply didn't cut it. Interim coalition grade: D.

• The number of violent incidents involving the Ba'ath or "foreign" terrorists is a gauge. This figure can also mislead. The paradox: Incidents can increase due to coalition success. Bet that incidents will spike prior to Iraqi elections, but that will be desperate violence by vicious losers. Interim Grade: C

• The geographic distribution of violent incidents. Most are confined to the "Sunni Triangle." Interim Grade: A-

• Prisoners and casualties. If the 5,000 Ba'ath fighter estimate is accurate, arresting or killing them is an MOE. Dare call it "body count?" The analog isn't Vietnam, it's the Untouchables breaking Al Capone. Interim Grade: B-; Capture or kill Saddam? A-