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Originally Posted by Polar
Even CNN reported (finally) that civilian casualties are down 80% and coalition casualites are down 85%.
Harry Ried, who declared the Surge a failure before all the troops were even on the ground has now changed his tune and stated the Surge is working.
Only those plugging their ears and going "LALALALALALALALALA" would think the Surge isn't doing exactly what it was designed to do.
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I hadn't posted in this thread yet, but I think I will now in response to something like this.
I'm generally in the camp who thinks that the surge isn't really working (at least not in the way people had hoped). I'm sure these extra personnel aren't just standing around, but they aren't having the effect people think they are.
The surge might seem to be working only if you look at the big picture (i.e. the casualty statistics, etc.). But the camp I'm in acknowledges the fact that there are around 2 million Iraqis displaced within the country, and another 2 million displaced outside. What we are seeing is ethnic cleansing (not to be confused with genocide) actually working. There are some areas where the minority has become the majority because of this displacement, and there is little evidence that this will ever revert. There are stories of families returning, but these are exaggerated.
The surge likely isn't working. The surge is likely something that was too little, too late. If there's anything that is working, it is ethnic cleansing and tribalism. When you continue to separate people who hate one another, they tend to kill each other at a slower pace.
Iraq is broken. The Americans cannot fix it militarily.