The Year of the Surge: Failure
By John Amato Wednesday Jan 09, 2008 10:10pmToday has been the anniversary of Bush's surge in Iraq. Clearly there is no political reconciliation in Iraq so the surge is and always will be a failure no matter how many times Joe Lieberman and John McCain proclaim it so. This has been an immoral war started by neocon warmongers and the end result at this point is that the Iraqi people have suffered dearly for our sins.
They cut deals with the Sunnis, but soon those same Sunnis will be targeting the Shia government. That's just grand. clammyc at DKos breaks down Bush's big speech on 01/10/07 and all it's failures. NSN also writes about what has not happened there in the last year that McCain is so proud of. I have to tell you that I'm not happy about the "it's time for the Iraqis to do their part" bit. We invaded them. We have no right to complain about how they are handling this situation. I might have said the same thing myself a few times and on further reflection realize that it's just a talking point to point the blame on them for not getting with the Democracy program when we have no right to say that.
Juan Cole writes about the nine US soldiers just killed there and the tremendous amount of civilian deaths that we've brought to the Iraqis as some sort of sick gift basket:
A new World Health Organization study estimates the excess numbers of civilians killed in violence in Iraq from April 2003 through June 2006 at between 101,000 and 224,000. They settled on 151,000 or so as the most likely number.
And Juan's most compelling quote is:
How many orphans have we created? How many widows? How many people who weep and cry every night while trying to fall asleep on straw mats?..read on.
Who cries for them except us? Not Cheney. And let's not forget all the Iraqi people that have fled their country. Oh, what about troop morale?
Iraq war veterans now stationed at a base here say that morale among U.S. soldiers in the country is so poor, many are simply parking their Humvees and pretending to be on patrol, a practice dubbed "search and avoid" missions.
And yet the PNACers live in in utter prosperity, getting jobs at the NY Times to flaunt their destructive ideas.
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The surge is a cover to buy more time in order to pass the "Oil Law" best fit for the American-based multinational oil/energy companies.
The surge has been a failure and Iraqis want America out of their country already.
Hear, hear.
Um.....was it not already a "surge"??? So this is what, an escalation of a surge???
ConcernedCanuck @ 3:
OK.......so we surged.....then today escalated the surge with 40000 tons of them there "smart bombs"..and afterwards went in and arrested "suspected insurgents"? OK, anybody else find that completely effed up in logic? So, um.......ok.....GDumbya and gang.......What the hell did you bomb?
Yes, by military standards the "surge" of dropping more and more bombs to pacify the Iraqi population into submission is "working." This angle will not be reported in the media.
By whose standards is the "surge" working? By bringing more death, making Iraqis submit to American military aggression to the point of fleeing refugees, and stealing their oil? Maliki will be seen as a "great leader" when sees to it that the Parliament passes the "Oil Law" even if the Iraqis oppose it in overwhelming numbers.
Poll after poll conducted in the Middle East shows that Iraqis want America to leave. If the 'surge" is going that "well" why is there an ongoing refugee crisis and that more Iraqis are dying by the day? Oh wait, those factors is why people like McCain and Lieberman and their media whore pals say its working.
The media is as ga-ga over this "surge" working nonsense and buy into the same Bush administration narrative and the phony "Petraeus as hero" crap that it did when supporting the original invasion in March of 2003. The media is still looking as is the war mongers in Washington for a chance to be "right" on Iraq....Five years and counting will be starting shortly for this illegal invasion on Iraq.
John Amato: “We have no right to complain about how they are handling this situation.”
I agree with you.
We can not complain what the “insurgents” are doing. Like blowing up ignorant American soldiers.
Interesting.
Speaking of Juan Cole - he will be appearing on the virtual interview show Virtually Speaking With Jimbo Hoyer in the online virtual world Second Life on Jan. 31st at 6pm Pacific.
Check http://www.inworldstudios.com/vs for details, podcasts and video clips from previous interviews - tonight we had on Ned Lamont and the podcast from that interview will be posted tomorrow.
When we leave(hopefully soon), we should give them a big fact check so they can clean up their country on our dime.
But not in a way that profits US business's.
Talcott @ 8:
Yes, it is called war reparations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr. XXXX @ 1:
Operation
Iraqi
Liberation
Peak oil is what this war is about...controlling one of the largest oil reserves while production begin's to diminish.
Beautiful post, John.
We need to read this again and again.
if the iraqys give out thoes oil rights to these thieveing bastards here the us army will never never leave iraq!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html 4371.....kia..That's Right....4371 US troops have been killed since 9/11
"We have no right to complain about how they are handling this situation."
If this country experienced even one day of the devastation we have caused in Iraq, we would be analyzing and lamenting our trauma for the next 50 years, and justifying our reactions to it.
"How many orphans have we created? How many widows? How many people who weep and cry every night while trying to fall asleep on straw mats?"
Thank you to Juan Cole.
we have be at 4000 kia's in Iraq now.
Cas @ 6:
John's talking about politically man. We can't complain if they aren't following our edicts politically. That is how I read it.
Whether you like it or not... it's the Democratic leadership in DC that allowed "THE SURGE" to become "THE SUCCESS."
This issue has been the biggest single wholesale FAILURE of our generation.
WE allowed the Republicans to succeed with their escallation.
We allowed them to sell it to the American public IN THEIR TERMS.
We allowed them to lie and cheat on the terms of the SURGE.
We allowed them to buy more and more time with American BLOOD and TREASURE.
and...
We allowed the Main-Stream-Media to HELP THEM DO IT.
excellent post john, good work.
.
And we CONTINUE to allow them to characterize this whole SORDID situation as a total success without qualification or justification.
The "Surge" WAS NOT A MILITARY STRATEGY, IT WAS A P.R. CAMPAIGN. Sorry for shouting, but it was from the heart.
Remember this one? "Surge" as sales job: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax4cR1for4o
I love the Whore NY Times, because I can read between the lines and actually get something out of it, for free, while they employ the despicable war criminals (and that is what Kristol and his cohorts are) and protect the other elite criminals of our society, all the while pretending to be decent and respectable.
It is hilarious. Only in the 'Merika.
Hey!!
The SURGE has been SO SUCCESSFUL in Iraq ..
"WE" are now planning a SURGE in AFGHANISTAN !!!
(usa! usa! usa!)
Afghanistan welcomes plan to boost US troop numbers
Betray Us is treated like a king by the beltway bumpkins. He's mccain's mini me
Over the past weekend, Hillary told New Hampshire voters: "After 9/11, I would never have taken us to war in Iraq".
Clinton eked out her win last night for two reasons: the MSM refused to call her on that infamous falsehood, and democratic partisans choose to ignore it. It contradicts both Village fable and Party line, that, somehow, all were misled by a still unknown sinister force. Or was an honest blunder altogether. Or was the correct decision, poorly managed.
Hillary Clinton took counsel of her perverted ambition in 2002. Along with everyone else in the world, she understood her vote to allow George Bush the power to unilaterally declare war meant that war would soon be unleashed upon the people of Iraq. She knew, she knew, she knew, she knew... and has never repented.
"After 9/11, I would never have taken us to war in Iraq".
Never has Goebbels insight into the power of a Big Lie been more amply demonstrated. So called "progressive voters" are no more immune to it than The Villagers. It makes me sick.
Ron Paull tried to explain in a recent debate how are (USA) policies are creating terrorists. The other candidates vehemently denied it. We're innocent of any bad behavior according to them.
American Exceptionalism is sickening, and pervasive. A disease of delusion that most Americans believe.
Good Call John Amato !!
It's about time someone stood up and said it: The endless parade of people talking about 'making demands on the Iraqis', and 'It's time for them to stand up', are at the root of everything that is wrong with this country. American war mongers talk about our great empire, and our great military might, but the reality is that the american political system has absolutely no idea how to handle being an empire, and this phrase of theirs, this 'Time to Stand Up', shows it in spades. Real conquerors know whose job it is to make things function, and whose problem it is when they don't. Only naive, day dreaming americans can fantasize that one can go waltzing around the globe invading countries on a whim, and then whining about how the conquered people aren't doing what you want them to. It is arrogance, hubris, and a deep, deep delusional relationship with reality, and a clear expression of hegemonic blindness that lead people to believe that this phrase means anything other than 'Warning: Con Artistry Ahead'. The whole premise of even the pro-war from the beginning folks, that we were going to conquer a country and then 'hand it back to them' was a deep fantasy from the get go. People prattle endlessly about 'mistakes' -- there were no mistakes, the plan was stupid -- to the core -- from the beginning. No one in the history of the world has conquered another country and then 'handed it back to them' without being willing to rule that country afterwards. Only fantasy land americans are so ignorant of their own history as to be deluded that this is not what happened after world war II, particularly in Japan which was the only country that we conquered on our own, but also in germany. The fact that both of those countries were smoking ruins (which makes it quite a bit easier to maintain control) is yet another little historical fact, that the great arm chair warriors of america have conveniently forgotten when they fantasize plans for Iraq.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The american people are like the grunts in Aliens -- all hopped up on pills and ready to invade, then screaming 'Game Over, Game Over', when they find out that reality isn't the cake walk fantasy land they always thought.
The republicans do not want to leave til they can get an oil deal signed.
They do not care how many Americans have to die in order for that to happen.
Did you know that the Vatican declared a mortal sin upon the USA after we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? I think 152,000 Iraqis perishing after the invasion will also be considered a mortal sin. We all must take responsibility for our governments actions. God Forgive Us.
the only intents of the surge was
1) to enrich military contractors,
2) to slap the voters in the face,
3) to slap congressional democrats in the face.
booscheneycorp will spend every tax dollar and every american life necessary to enrich their friends, the 'haves' and the 'have mores'.
Orangutan. @ 16:
Yes, the people of Iraq should just peacefully demonstrate in the streets of Bagdad..
Forget it. Just think what you would feel and do, if your country was sold out under foreign occupation.
The NY Times should send William Kristol on one of those Humvee patrols. Even money he never makes it back to report/distort the story.
Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Amato.
with all the hoopla, the occupations were out of the news.
15,000 troops suicides.
3921 troops dead - Iraq
478 troops dead - Afghanistan
1,000,000 Iraqis dead
2,500,000 Iraqis displaced
[add statistics here]
GoodGod @ 31:
Especially if he gets seated in the second or third vehicle.
I want to see our troops out of there as soon as possible. The problem is we, as a nation, went in there and screwed their country up royally. It doesn't seem right for us to not have some sort of involvement until Iraq is stable. I guess it's the whole "You break it, you bought it" way of thinking. When the democrats take over, how are they going to fix it? I'm honestly out for answers here. We all know that this war is unjust and history will judge those who instigated it very harshly. I like the idea of reparations, but how do we distribute it? There are so many questions...This war happened on our watch, we will have to sacrifice (anything but more troops' and iraqi's lives) to make things somewhat right over there and here. If the democratic candidate can put a specific plan together (even if the war is not a "hot button" issue anymore as the media tells us) and give voice to how we must all take responsibility, no matter how unfair, they would better off for it. What goes around comes around, even to the buffoons who got us in this mess. It's time to look forward and come up with solid solutions.
Cas @ 30:
I would be trying to rid my country of invaders by any means necessary.
And I'm not talking politically.
there's no peak oil. that's just a misnomer, an excuse to inflate the value.
It's about time we started looking closely at the cost of the war in terms of Iraqi lives we've ruined. If you are an American and don't feel shame now, you don't love your country.
The right has been obsessed with defending the policy, and the left has been obsessed with hating Bush, and both sides have been ignoring the Iraqi lives we've ruined.
We on the left should forget how much we hate Bush and think about the best policy to minimize further damage to the Iraqi people. Evidence suggests that the Iraqi people are themselves divided about whether we should leave immediately or not. Half want us out now, half want us to stay and clean up the mess. We should listen to them. One place to start is "Inside Iraq".
http://washingtonbureau.typepad.com/iraq/
mirth @ 35:
yep, it appears that 'Cas' is one of those 'exceptionalists'.
"people who go around shooting everyone and everything that moves should be given leeway just 'cause they're 'murkin."
sounds so repug-like, eh?
"...no matter how many times Joe Lieberman and John McCain proclaim it so."
You mean "otherwise"?
bobsf @ 37:
you need to stop with the blanket (mis)characterizations.
CoIntelPro @ 38:
Don't tell me Bush and Co are criminals, who are robbing and raping Iraq, but the victims have no right to defend themselves against their henchmen.
They should be just submissive little third world people, who should just wait till the liberal forces of the superpower solves their problems for them?
I guess the Palestinians also should just let it all happen to them?
and for thoes ijits that believe every thing lou dobbs says , hes says THE SURGE IS WORKING@@@@@@@@@@@@
"John Amato: “We have no right to complain about how they are handling this situation.”
I agree with you.
We can not complain what the “insurgents” are doing. Like blowing up ignorant American soldiers.
Interesting".
Cas: The following quote was my best shot in 2002, when I pleaded with my congressional reps to oppose the vote that gave George Bush the power to unleash war (that list includes today's much pitied, worse-than-worthless SOB, Tom Lantos. But that's a reference Nicole and/or her bleeding heart site monitor can better explain). It reads:
"..your efforts are forever vain and impotent--doubly so from this mercenary aid on which you rely; for it irritates, to an incurable resentment, the minds of your enemies, to overrun them with the mercenary sons of rapine and plunder, devoting them and their possessions to the rapacity of hireling cruelty! If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country, I never would lay down my arms--never--never--never".
Lord Chatham to Parliament 1777
The biggest advocates of fighting the ethnically based insurgents, are also the biggest advocates of State Rights back home.
These hypocrites don’t see they are fighting the same kind of people as they are themselves.
Mr. XXXX @ 1:
Remember the Energy Task Force formed two weeks after Bush took office in 2001? The “Oil Law” getting passed is what they mean when they use the term winning. “The fact is, Iraq was on the hit list from the start.” They have been planning this for years. They don’t care about little things that may get in their way like the destruction of countless lives or a country.
Way to put it all together C&L. Professor Cole is the stop for me on anything Middle-East, but it's hard to know all the players even with his scorecard. I must say, however, I want to disagree with both John and Juan.
The surge worked perfectly; everything is great. Let's go home.
thanks for this post. it's beyond comprehension how horribly we've destroyed... an entire country. hillary crying is bigger news than iraq???
What amounts to a failure is this hackjob of a blog post.
[Nice. Commenting from work I see. Not all that bright, are you? I'm sure your employer will be thrilled-Sitemonitor]
"A Surge of More Lies"
It's worth reflecting that Bush would've done the US and the entire world an enormous favor if he'd simply secluded himself in the oval office in January 2001 and proceeded to drink himself blind.
libsareretarded @ 49:
:lol:
Your tears will do nothing to right the wrongs of this war but impeachment will, at least, make everybody that signed on for the illegal invasion stand up and be counted. Justice can not give back a life but it can let the world see that we have the courage to tell the truth and hold the criminals to some accounting. Impeachment has gon out of 'fashion on most of the lefty blogs. Sometime in the future, many are going to look back at this period and be ashamed they didn't do more to get justice for those widows and orphans. It is such a simple and easy thing to promote, on a daily basis, Wexler's petition, (now stalled at 185,000) and remind everybody of the importance of impeaching cheney for truth, justice and history.
http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com/
fiver @ 52:
Since I left the lol @ 52 I've been thinking. That's kinda scary.
" have to tell you that I’m not happy about the “it’s time for the Iraqis to do their part” bit. We invaded them. We have no right to complain about how they are handling this situation."
The point of that is domestic and Congressional. It's not a judgment of the Iraqis or the Iraqi gov't -- it's a benchmarking method of trying to get control of the budget (and the gore), amid the countervaling lie of the warmongering Republicans (& Dinos), who are in the technical majority (and have been).
Those idiots are still trying to start a war with Iran.
There will be one final devastating failure that will rip the heart of America. That's when we invade Iran. And why is that going to happen?
Because we will fail to impeach and remove Bush and Cheney from the position which they will use to initiate War with Iran.
I don't want to get the consolation prize of being right about this.
If McCain says that he is prepared for "100 years", then how can be Surge be thought to have worked?
"It’s worth reflecting that Bush would’ve done the US and the entire world an even bigger favour if he’d simply secluded himself in the Texas governor's office in January 1999 and proceeded to drink himself blind."
I like this version better.
bob h @ 57:
..didn't he even say that the American people didn't care if it was 10,000 years? LOL
The figures they qoutes for casualties leave out the worst time period for Iraq violence, the second half of 2006 and all of 2007. We know that violence increased over that time and more than doubled in reported deaths for civilians. SO, I would guess that the number of dead is ayt least twice what they reported. As we already knew. Since they are running out of people to kill (they are dead or the ran away) of course violence will go down for a while.
Ohhh the surge..... Do you mean that thing that has also forced teen-aged girls into prostitution so they can feed themselves? Bush.... do your god a favor and kill yourself.
dollars to donuts....McCain will pick Lieberman as his running mate...
Medical Diagnosis by Video @ 25:
As I was growing up, even knowing about our history of slaughtering native Americans, promoting slavery, championing bigotry and racism, CIA stooges meddling with sovereign nations, propping up bad guys all over the world to fight other bad guys (who come back to bite us in the ass), the rise of the military-industrial-congressional complex, I still had the belief that we somehow had the lock on the high road in world affairs.
Sadly, I do not feel that way any more. While our people have done some very good things over the years, our "leaders" have more than undone these good works with their diabolical lust for power and greed.
The U.S. of A is not exceptional. It is pond scum. If that makes me unpatriotic, so be it.
The WHO's estimate of 151,000 dead civilian Iraqis is based on the assumption that only one in six of the "excess deaths" (i.e., those that are not predicted by pre-war death rates) are attributable to the war. When a more realistic proportion is used, such as 4 in 5, the number rises to 600,000.
But I'm delighted to know that even NPR says that the surge is working. Makes it all worth it.
JB @ 34:
Well, you are sure as hell not going to get solid solutions from Republicans.
I've made a boatload of money due to this war so I'm o.k. with it so far.
Larry @ 66:
Assuming you're being serious, good for you. Enjoy your blood money!
P.S. I'm sure some of the profit from Operation Iraqi Liberation has found its way into my 401K plan, though I'm not jumping up and down about it. I would prefer to make money by investing in ethical companies who have a good product, instead of those who profit off killing people.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday the United States would have a long-term presence in Iraq that could "easily" last a decade, but that it would be at the invitation of the Iraqi government.
In an interview with NBC News, Bush was asked about recent comments by Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain that it would be fine with him to have a U.S. military presence in Iraq for 100 years.
"That's a long time," Bush replied, adding that there "could very well be" a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq at the invitation of the government in Baghdad. When asked if it could be 10 years, Bush replied: "It could easily be that, absolutely."
Nice.
The surge is working but as we know, and so do they, the surge is temporary. And without political progress, what's the point? Youll have another crop of frustrated youth, or the same ones, acting out once the pot boils again.
But then again, these things arent entirely predictable either. Stability will return to Iraq at some point and there is always a small chance that this process has really begun.
Whether or not it was a failure depends on what the goals of the "surge" were. If the goal was to kill yet more Iraqis and do further long-term damage to Iraqi society, as I believe it was, then it succeeded. And continues to succeed. Word just this week is that US aerial bombardment of Iraq is once again on the upswing, and aerial bombardment is the number one killer of Iraqis. Mass murder of Iraqis is part of the plan. It's unfortunate that Americans don't care about the Iraqi population.
Larry @ 66:
So have the Bushs and Cheneys.
Dragon in Babylon @ 71:
Nothing wrong with making money. Even during war someone earns some dough.
Larry @ 72:
Ergo 9-11. I'll bet you're a True Christian,also. Creep.
The surge was a bandaid on a skin cancer.
The perverbial shit will hit the fan again & again in Iraq.
I have no doubt about it.
Excellent post, and EVERY citizen should be required to read the Juan Cole post. It is very moving and it will put things into perspective even for the most ignorant and apathetic among us.
uppity kitty @ 75:
Juan Cole is an anti-Anerican communist.
MountainMan23 @ 22:
Situation in Afghanistan's been getting worse for months, now.
Then again, Afghanistan beat Alex the Great, Ghenghis Khan, Tamerlane, the British Empire and the Soviet Union.
Looks like the Lost Cause is starting to get lost....
Cas @ 6:
Obviously I mean the elected government...I didn't know that was so hard to understand.
"Clearly there is no political reconciliation in Iraq so the surge is and always will be a failure"
Is and always will be? Are the Iraqi people incapable of political reconciliation? Mr. Amato criticizes McCain for telling the Iraqis to do their part, but at least McCain and the other war supporters believe Iraqis are capable of building a democracy. They're not mindless pagans.
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