This is how it’s done:

This morning I learned that Pentagon officials have said that force levels in Iraq would not be cut “anytime soon,” apparently because of a “recent surge in violence” sweeping Iraq. But what struck me most about that news was votesomemore’s response in this thread claiming that, “There is ALWAYS a ‘recent surge in violence.'”

That got me thinking. Is there always a “recent surge in violence” in Iraq? I Googled the phrase, and discovered that the answer to the question is, well, yes.

There are a few notable periods where violence is not reported as a “recent surge,” (for example, Nov 2003 – Mar 2004) and there are a few notable periods where the violence is much worse (for example, May 2005).

But overall, it appears that there is a “recent surge in violence” reported in Iraq pretty much every few weeks.

The link above will let you see the links that came of that search, and mind you, only that particular string of words. This is exactly why internet archives are quite the opposite of Big Brother, and why archives being snapped and becoming “for-pay” is a baaaaad idea.

Via Ritu.