Comments on The Surge

what american politician will sacrifice their career & admit that we have lost in iraq? you simply cannot abuse someone into loving you.

hoist by our own petard.

Don't forget they're not counting deaths from car bombs/suicide bombers, either.

We can eliminate crime by simply redefininig it! Brilliant!

They redefine everything to suit them proper, yo!

How much longer 'til it's over?

Anybody listen to the Onion Radio News today? "President Bush Fortifies Troops with Hearty Breakfast" He might as well have. His plan seems to be working out so well.

I reserve judgement until General David Patreaus evaulates, who said the surge won't fully be if force until late summer.

I have to say, I actually agree with the strategy here-- just not the execution. If we sent in another 250,000 or 500,000 troops-- and if we'd sent them in a year and a half ago --I think this would probably work.

Short of that, it's time to bring them home.

I reserve judgement until General David Patreaus evaulates, who said the surge won't fully be if force until late summer.

Problem is, war-lovers have been saying "success is just a few months away" or "we can't be sure if we've got a problem yet" for four fucking years now. Enough.

I find myself agreeing with raindrop.
Two things:
-The Surge is pushing established insurgent groups out of Baghdad, and their movement is likely a twofold of either allying with or battling with existing groups in those areas; the subsequent killings being the result of this and of intimidating / cleansing the "new" local population.
-The insurgent groups are fighting a much more effective media war than the US is.

Sorry to burst the bubble for those of you hanging on the words of General David Petraeus (betray us?), but Bush isn’t even following the General’s recommendations from his counter-insurgency manual. It’s all a sham and a charade.

“The trouble is, most of those touting his authorship have clearly never read his magnum opus. Or perhaps they have, didn't like the plotline, and decided to ignore or alter the contents to fit their political agenda… Now they are willfully ignoring Petraeus' blueprint for success -- and acting like they are following it to a tee. His newly-minted counterinsurgency approach calls for a ratio of 25 soldiers per 1,000 residents -- which would require 120,000 soldiers to provide the proper security for Baghdad, and roughly three times that amount for all of Iraq. But let's just focus on the 120,000 soldiers that, according to the manual written by Petraeus -- "the expert on counterinsurgency," remember? -- are needed to secure Baghdad. Simply put: we're not even close to that number. And never will be.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/petraeus-ex-machina_b_46866.html

Every day, in every way, we grow more and more like Red Russia.