General Petraeus, the Bush Administration and Senator McCain continue to try to convince us that the “surge” is working; that the surge is a success. But in fact, the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq is not working. It is not a success. It is immaterial. It will not and cannot determine whether Iraq is peaceful and democratic or continues to be torn by sectarian power struggles and violence. Like the surge of any wave, it will inevitably melt away in the sand.

There is no U.S. military solution to this situation. A scenario for a U.S. military victory simply does not exist. Yet, we’re told that we’re winning. And we’re told that since we’re winning, our troops have to police Iraq — perhaps as long as 100 years, according to Senator McCain.

It’s important for us to remember why President Bush said the surge was necessary. It was to give the elected Iraqi government time to ‘get itself together;’ to unify the Iraqi people: the Shi’a, the Sunnis and the Kurds. How’s that going?

By any rational measurement, it’s not. The national government has enacted only four of George Bush’s 18 benchmark measures to promote unification. Even the United States Senate is faster than that.

If the purpose of the surge is not happening — if the Iraqi government is not using the time bought with American blood and American dollars to build an inclusive, representative government; if Shi’a turf battles can erupt at any time; if we have to pay Sunni militias not to kill Americans — how can anyone seriously claim that the Surge is a success? How can we justify spending the lives of American men and women and billions more dollars for purposes that are solely political; for a campaign slogan.

If we truly want to support our troops, we will end the surge and bring them home.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Politics, Foreign Policy .