This one goes to 11

The Times has a thoroughly useless op-chart today on the states of Iraq and Afghanistan. Of particular interest is Iraq’s supposed measure of political progress at 7 on a scale of 11. Just how exactly does one come to this conclusion, and why is it out of 11? Is Nigel Tufnel editing the page now? Is it April Fools’ Day already?

How did the authors come to the conclusion that the Taliban is actually declining in popularity? By what measure, and in what parts of the country?

Graphics are useful when they’re striking, and they illustrate a point with greater brevity and clarity than a piece would allow for. They’re not useful when they inundate you with all sorts of arbitrary metrics based on unclear sources.