Lessons of the Surge

Washington Times/Frontpagemagazine ^ | November 05, 2008 | Michael O'Hanlon

[SJackson]

Many Americans and Iraqis think of the recent surge in Iraq as simply the temporary addition of more U.S. troops to the war effort in 2007 and the first half of 2008. This is incorrect. It is also dangerous.

Partly because they misunderstand the true nature of the surge, many American and Iraqi political leaders now seem to want American forces out of Iraq as fast as possible. Iraqi leaders also now seem unwilling to accept a reasonable Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to govern the actions of U.S. troops in their country after the current U.N. Security Council mandate expires at the end of the year.

In fact, the basic logic of the surge continues - and must continue - even now that the increase in U.S. combat formations in Iraq has come to an end. At its core, the surge has been about cooperatively protecting the Iraqi civilian population. This is the central point policymakers in Baghdad, Washington and other capitals around the world need to appreciate.

At the risk of falling victim to Pentagonese, I would propose we broaden our understanding of the surge by thinking of that word as an acronym. Gen. David Petraeus' strategy has been a remarkable success, reducing the rate of violence by more than 80 percent in Iraq over the last two years while also helping spark the beginnings of a process of political reconciliation. It took far more than the simple addition of 30,000 American troops, on top of the 140,000 already there when the surge began, to make this happen. So instead of surge, think SURGE:

[SJackson]

Security
Unity of effort
Reconciliation
Government capacity
Excellence in execution

May not matter. Nor may a Status of Forces agreement if there are no forces.

[gunnedah]

Bring our troops home from Iraq,Afganistan and the rest of the world. The Messiah has risen.