Really, the “Surge” is the greatest thing since sliced bread, if you like death and destruction:
BAGHDAD — Four suicide bombers hit a Kurdish Yazidi community in northwest Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 175 people and wounding 200 others, the Iraqi military said.
The bombs tore through communities near Qahataniya, 75 miles west of Mosul, Iraq’s third-largest city, according to Iraq Army Capt. Mohammed Ahmed and Abdul-Rahman al-Shimiri, the top government official in the area.
And if you like dead American soldiers, the Surge is certainly a winning strategy:
(cont.)
Also Tuesday, the U.S. military reported the deaths of nine Americans in three separate incidents, including the crash of twin-rotor Chinook helicopter. The Chinook went down in Anbar province Tuesday during a “routine post-maintenance check flight,” killing five service members, the military said. The cause of the crash, which the military said occurred in the vicinity of Taqaddum Air Base, is under investigation.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed Monday by a roadside bomb in Nineveh province in the northwestern part of the country, officials said, while one was killed in combat in western Baghdad.
For those of you who are counting, that’s 45 coalition casualties for the first 14 days of August, 41 of whom were Americans.
But, more important than the war fighting component of the “Surge” is the fact that it is allowing the Iraqi government sufficient security to in assume political control over the countryside:
BAGHDAD: More than 50 gunmen dressed in Iraqi security forces uniforms and using 17 official vehicles broke into an Oil Ministry compound in eastern Baghdad Tuesday and abducted a senior deputy of the oil minister, and four other officials, a ministry spokesman and police said. […]
An Interior Ministry official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to release the information, said a top official in the State Oil Marketing Organization and three directors general in the operation also were kidnapped.
And with more effective governance by the Prime Minister Maliki’s regime, political divisions between Sunni and Shi’ite parties are more likely to be resolved peacefully in the near future.
Iraq’s prime minister appeared to clear the way Monday with a last-minute push from the U.S. ambassador for a crisis council that seeks to save his crumbling government. […]
he sinking fortunes of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Shiite-led administration have become something of a second front for Washington.
Al-Maliki’s government a shaky coalition of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds has been gutted by boycotts and defections. A full-scale disintegration could touch off power grabs on all sides and seriously complicate U.S.-led efforts to stabilize Iraq.
Al-Maliki has struggled over the past days to pull together a summit of Iraq’s main religious and ethnic groups. The meeting finally appeared likely after U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker called on Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, the lone Sunni Arab invited to the talks that are scheduled for Tuesday. Al-Hashemi’s attendance had been in question.
A senior American official, who spoke in Baghdad, said the stage was set for major changes in the “structure, nature and direction of the Iraqi state.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the planned gathering.
But ending the political impasse would likely require concessions from al-Maliki’s embattled government toward Sunnis, who account for up to 20 percent of Iraq’s population but complain they have been sidelined in trying to rebuild Iraq after Saddam Hussein.
See, everything is just peachy in Iraq these days. I can’t wait until General Petraeus reports to Congress next month with all the good news. Because, after all, General Petraeus is a genius at counterinsurgency, and a more honest, upright and honorable man would be hard to find. He would never stoop to fudging the facts on the ground to suit the Bush administration’s political agenda. Just look at his September 26, 2004 op-ed in the Washington Post if you need to verify his apolitical bona fides:
In recent months, I have observed thousands of Iraqis in training and then watched as they have conducted numerous operations. Although there have been reverses — not to mention horrific terrorist attacks — there has been progress in the effort to enable Iraqis to shoulder more of the load for their own security, something they are keen to do. The future undoubtedly will be full of difficulties, especially in places such as Fallujah. We must expect setbacks and recognize that not every soldier or policeman we help train will be equal to the challenges ahead.
Nonetheless, there are reasons for optimism. Today approximately 164,000 Iraqi police and soldiers (of which about 100,000 are trained and equipped) and an additional 74,000 facility protection forces are performing a wide variety of security missions. Equipment is being delivered. Training is on track and increasing in capacity. Infrastructure is being repaired. Command and control structures and institutions are being reestablished.
So what if he was a tad over optimistic 3 years ago in his evaluation of the capabilities of Iraqi security forces for whose training he was responsible. His heart’s in the right place, and this time he’s the head honcho, not just someone’s subordinate. I’m sure his review of the situation in Iraq, now that his career depends upon victory, will be the most comprehensive and accurate to date.
But you know the number one reason I know the Surge is working? Because Bill Kristol told me so on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night. And you know Bill, he’s never been wrong. About anything.
