Statistical Analysis of Afghanistan Civilian Deaths - Essay Example

Section/# Statistical Analysis of Afghanistan Civilian Deaths The utilisation of statistics is a poignant way in which data can be represented. An individual can oftentimes leverage a certain set of data to make a key point, whereas another individual can understand the same topic within a different framework entirely through the utilisation of alternate data. As such, the following discussion will be concentric upon an analysis of the article entitled ‘Tracking Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan’. Although the information therein represented is likely reflected without the intention to mislead or otherwise see the reader, the fact of the matter is that the data is incomplete and necessarily causes the reviewer/analyst to misinterpret the situation that is being represented. As a means of understanding the way in which this together situation is misrepresented, the analysis will engage the reader with discussion of some of the core drawbacks that exist within the research at hand. Without question, the war in Afghanistan is an issue that still engenders a great deal of societal debate; however, instead of delving into this debate in seeking to take sides, the author will instead leverage the information that is represented within the article, and the article alone, as a means of drawing inference upon whether or not statistics and data are valid for making the points at hand. Firstly, it should be noted that the data charts that are represented in the opening tables of the article do not represent the number of civilian deaths between 2001 and 2007. This is an unimaginable oversight. Ultimately, the bloodiest years of any conflict or invasion are those at the very beginning of such an action. Whereas it is of course laudable that the authors intended to track the state at all, the overall level of inference that the reader can gain from statistics that only begin tracking civilian deaths in late 2007 is greatly diminished. Furthermore, the article does not begin tracking ‘ground engagements’ until 2011 (Zenko, 2014). As can be understood, the nation of Afghanistan is extraordinarily poor. Thus, it is not expected that terrorists or other groups will utilise advanced weaponry and/or the Air Force as a means of engaging targets. By extension, it can also be assumed that the ‘invaders’ of Afghanistan, namely NATO, heavily utilise air power in lieu of ground engagements due to the fact that air assault of enemy forces has a lower overall likelihood of causing coalition causalities. A further issue that encourages the reader to question the veracity and usefulness of the represented data is that drone strikes and the overall number of associated civilian casualties are not tracked until 2011. It has been well known within the United States and elsewhere throughout the world for a number of years that the United States utilises drone strikes as one of the most common forms of combating in any forces within Afghanistan, and indeed elsewhere throughout the world for that matter. However, the fact that this statistic is overlooked forces the reader to question whether or not the information that is represented is complete and trustworthy. Ultimately, from an analysis of the fact that civilian casualties were not tracked until 2007, ground engagements were not recorded until 2011, and drone strikes were not included until 2011, it can clearly be seen that the represented information figures a great deal to be desired. A concern that must be represented is the fact that there is incomplete information denoted. For instance, targeted killings a contract killings between 2007-2013 does not even begin to factor in the deaths that took place at the outset of the conflict. Moreover, no clear statistic is given with respect to targeted killings that took place within 2010. Without this key level of information, the reader is only left to assume that a lack of collection potential, or perhaps a definitive level of bias with respect to what should be represented should not took place and encouraged the individuals not to represent the data from 2010.although it would have been simple for the researchers to merely point to the fact that certain constraints reduce their ability to draw inference upon key situations, the state is instead represented with a very ambiguous “not applicable”. A further concern that must necessarily be represented is with regards to the fact that the data itself is presented by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Even a cursory level of understanding with respect to global power denotes the fact that NATO member countries are disproportionately considered as dynamic global powers. As such, the propensity and overall likelihood that the United Nations would stand against the nation of ours represent anything short of a satisfactory or successful level of civilian death reduction comes to mind. The reader should not always the pessimistic with regards to the veracity of the data or the potential bias of those that represented; however, they should necessarily be aware of the fact that the analysis of statistics requires a level of healthy skepticism. Ultimately, the Afghan side of the situation does not have any advocates. No known) power actively supports the Taliban, Al Qaeda or any of the forces that NATO and its coalition is actively engaged in fighting. As such, the lack advocacy with respect to the Afghan population creates a situation in which the data that is represented has a very high potential for being biased towards the United States and its allies. Accordingly, instead of assuming that this particular article is worthless and should not be utilized whatsoever, the reader should instead integrate with the understanding that even though a clear level of research has been put forward, the information that is been represented is incomplete and cannot be utilized in and of itself as a means of drawing upon the conflict Afghanistan and/or the overall number of civilian deaths that have taken place since the coalition led invasion in 2001. Through such a lens, an article such as the one that has been discussed could instead be utilized as corroborating evidence or further statistical proof of a position that draws from a litany of other sources regarding the conflict in Afghanistan. Bibliography Zenko, M 2014, ‘Tracking civilian deaths in Afghanistan’, Politics Power and Preventative Action, viewed 6 March 2014, http://blogs.cfr.org/zenko/2014/02/10/tracking-civilian-deaths-in-afghanistan/. Read More