Surge is Just a Stopgap

Two posts ago I was speaking about the success of the surge and the cost in lives it has created. Here's some more on the surge from Progress Report, 11/2/2007...

'SURGE' FAILS AT PRIMARY AIMS: Bush's escalation strategy has been unable to attain its primary goal of reducing violence to "help make reconciliation possible ." While the administration has been trumpeting a trend of decreasing violence, Iraqi government figures obtained yesterday reveal that the "number of Iraqis killed in insurgent and sectarian attacks rose in October, " illustrating how the administration is pushing claims that it is gaining "momentum " in Iraq while ignoring the pervasive volatility there.

Although levels of violence are down from "pre-surge" levels, "there might be fewer attacks because you have ethnically cleansed neighborhoods ," according to the Government Accountability Office. A recent report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq reconstruction stated, "Despite reduced violence [since pre-surge levels], officials are pessimistic that lasting reconciliation is occurring " in Baghdad and surrounding provinces. Earlier this month, "several top Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith " in the prospect of reconciliation."