Iraq, Sucess or Succeeding? The Surge, Worked or Working?

Image from MSNBC

The whole subject of Iraq is confusing to me. Is it still a war that we need to win? Did we already win, and now we're keeping the peace? Are we peacekeepers or occupiers? And then there's the surge. Is the surge working? Has the surge already worked? Or is the surge over with? I'm not the only one confused, as evidenced by John McCain's own statements.

In a USA Today article on June 17th, McCain is quoted as saying, "The situation on the ground is that we have made enormous success and the surge has worked." But the phrase is alternated with claims that "The surge is working," by McCain, Bush and others.

CNN reported that on Sept. 5, McCain's--ahem--buddy, Sen. Lindsey Graham said, "America is safer because we're winning in Iraq." But I've also heard that we've won in Iraq. Either way, what winning is, is never defined. Even what losing is, is never defined. McCain says if Barack Obama had his way, we would have already pulled out, and that would have been in defeat.

But what is defeat? Getting out without more US service members dying? What is victory? Sticking around, but nobody's dying? Before we ever went in, no US service members were dying in Iraq. Would we have won if we'd never gone?

Not surprisingly, whenever a Republican is asked point blank what "victory" or "winning" is, they duck the question. Nobody, it would seem, has any idea. What we do know, is that Iraq is not a liberated, free wonderful little democratic society. Bad stuff is still happening there. So did the surge work? I have no idea.

[Excerpt]

Monday: 26 Iraqis Killed, 52 Wounded

A significant number of attacks occurred across Iraq today. Almost all of them caused very few casualties though, keeping the figures deceptively low. At least 26 Iraqis were killed and 52 more were wounded. . .

Read more at: Antiwar.com

[Excerpt]

U.S. soldiers kill physician in Diala by mistake – police

A physician was accidentally killed by U.S. forces in central Baaquba district on Monday, a police source in Diala said. . .

Read more at: Aswataliraq

Links courtesy of Stupid Monnkey Planet

The Surge: Did it Work? Are We Winning Now?

Republicans are horrible at governing, but waging a campaign--political or ideological--that they can manage. In the case of the Presidential election, I'm just hoping they're low on mojo (which would appear to be true), but when it comes to framing issues, they haven't lost their magic touch.

Months ago, I started hearing the phrase "the surge is working," and "we're winning in Iraq," from characters like Sean Hannity. Not a lot of people were saying this, but it was becoming more and more common from the pundit class. Eventually, the meme spread like a virus. Now, it would seem everyone except Barack Obama (and lefty bloggers like me) either believe both phrases to be true, or at least are thinking more positively about the whole Iraq thing.

From my perspective, George Bush's, John McCain's, Rush Limbaugh's and Sean Hannity's whole idea of success or winning in Iraq is that no (or less) Americans die over there. I'm all for that happenstance by the way, but is that really a definition of "winning?" That they aren't killing us right now? By that logic, they wouldn't be killing us at all if we weren't there!

I ask, because so far, none of those right wing blow-holes has explained what "winning" even means. How do you have a "victory" in an occupation? The reasons for going there, the reasons for staying there, and the objective and results of the (year-long) "surge" change from day to day. Politicians say our actions should be dictated by "conditions on the ground." What's happening is, our story changes according to conditions on the ground. Like everything else in this sorry administration, the facts are fixed around a storyline, and whatever has a ring of "truthiness" to it is sold as the real story. Until tomorrow, when something else sounds better. Isn't the rest of America as tired of this as I am?

[Excerpt]

Note to MSM: Stop Saying "The Surge Worked" and the Occupation is a War

. . .I'm so tired of so many in the MSM following the Republican talking point that the surged "worked." This meme has taken the situation in Iraq and twisted them it a pretzel - a point well understood by Obama, as evidenced by his recent interview with Brian Williams. A number of analysts have pointed out that many factors have led to the decrease in violence. Rachel Maddow recently pointed out on her show and on MSNBC, that the Iraqis themselves stated four factors, none of which included the surge. . .

Read more at: OEN

CBS News Covering for McCain's Lack of "Surge" Knowledge?

Now, this is interesting. Apparently, CBS News' Katie Couric interviewed John McCain, asked him a hard question, then edited his answer to appear like he knew what he was talking about. Even though he didn't. What do you make of that, all you folks who insist that there is a "liberal media bias?"



From: AmericaBlog