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gary (not verified) says:
Re: Glamorizing the Surge
The "Surge" never worked as claimed by Senator McCain or anyone else. What apparently "worked" was paying Sunni militiamen to switch sides and cooperate with us. The situation now looks very much like a stalemate, with neither side (al-Maliki or Muktadar) having enough military might for victory in what can only be accurately called a civil war. When a foreign military intervenes in a situation such as this one, the only way it can bring about a resolution is to pick one side and crush the other.
Ironically, Bush was essentially right when he got up on the aircraft carrier and declared the war to be over. It is. What is not over is the occupation. We didn't have enough troops to hold the country when we so benevolently invaded it, and we still didn't during the Surge. (Even so, the insurgency might have been nipped in the bud with more competent leadreship in 2003, when it would have made a difference).
The benchmarks are a joke, and victory, as Joe Conason says, is mere decades away. Maybe we should do what General Westmoreland suggested 35 years ago and simply declare victory and go home.
Re: Glamorizing the Surge
The "Surge" never worked as claimed by Senator McCain or anyone else. What apparently "worked" was paying Sunni militiamen to switch sides and cooperate with us. The situation now looks very much like a stalemate, with neither side (al-Maliki or Muktadar) having enough military might for victory in what can only be accurately called a civil war. When a foreign military intervenes in a situation such as this one, the only way it can bring about a resolution is to pick one side and crush the other.
Ironically, Bush was essentially right when he got up on the aircraft carrier and declared the war to be over. It is. What is not over is the occupation. We didn't have enough troops to hold the country when we so benevolently invaded it, and we still didn't during the Surge. (Even so, the insurgency might have been nipped in the bud with more competent leadreship in 2003, when it would have made a difference).
The benchmarks are a joke, and victory, as Joe Conason says, is mere decades away. Maybe we should do what General Westmoreland suggested 35 years ago and simply declare victory and go home.
Gary Berkowitz