“And he was right! Folks can dump on him for the beret but you can’t dump on him for looking out for his soldiers.”
No he wasn’t right. The success of the surge had more to do with tactics than the 20,000 extra troops they put in. If those same tactics had been employed earlier the situation would not have gotten as bad.
BS. If that were true Rumsfeld would still be SecDef. The tactics that were employed would not have been successful without the additional troops. Why would the Army increase troop strength/presence in country if they were not needed? Your theory lacks logic.