Monday, January 21, 2008

Article on the Surge

There's a great article about the surge in the Sunday Post.

I've long thought that we can win the "surge." The problem comes once the troops go home. Has there been any change on the ground politically to make someone think things can change for the better? I'd say that that is probably not the case.

We've offered the Sunni insurgents money and arms to come over to our side and fight against al qaeda. The question has to asked has this bought loyalty to the central government. Or once al qaeda is gone will these Sunni insurgents turn against the government in Baghdad. As First Sgt. Richard Meiers stated: "We're paying them not to blow us up. It looks good right now, but what happens when the money stops?"

I think the final paragraph sums up how I feel about the new found optimism that this time around we've figured out a way to "win" in Iraq:

According to the war's most fervent proponents, Bush's critics have become so "invested in defeat" that they cannot see the progress being made on the ground. Yet something similar might be said of those who remain so passionately invested in a futile war's perpetuation. They are unable to see that, surge or no surge, the Iraq war remains an egregious strategic blunder that persistence will only compound.

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