We know the fable: A brave and determined U.S. President "stays the course," surging more troops into harms way despite the unpatriotic opposition of the antiwar appeasers. And, sure enough, it works!
And now, the military claims, The Surge is over. Is that a good thing?
Don’t be too sure –
For example, we know that when the British withdrew from Basra – as part of The Surge – violence fell. Drastically. Just as the Iraqis & Brits predicted it would –
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) – Residents of Iraq’s southern city of Basra have begun strolling riverfront streets again after four years of fear, their city much quieter since British troops withdrew from the grand Saddam Hussein-era Basra Palace. …Mortar rounds, rockets and small arms fire crashed almost daily into the palace, making life hazardous for British and Iraqis alike in Iraq’s second-largest city. To many Basrans the withdrawal of the British a month ago removed a proven target. – Iraqis say Basra quieter after British troop pullout, Aref Mohammed, uk.reuters.com, Mon Oct 1, 2007 3:12pm BST
Once again, just as in Vietnam, the American Government hadn’t done its homework. At least not until General David Petraeus – apparently the architect of The Surge – took over. Or perhaps the meager U.S. homework was just swamped by the 935 orchestrated pre-war prevarications purveyed by the Bush Administration, apparently as another deliberate war induction scam.
Gen. Petraeus is a student of counter-insurgency and so, unlike his predecessors, apparently knew that once the Iraqi people were aroused against the occupiers, the so-called "war" couldn’t be won in the conventional way, not even with thousand-pound bombs, Abrams tanks, white phosphorus, napalm and not even with torture. The Battle of Algiers called "one of the most influential political films in history" documented the probable outcome of such a counter-insurgency faux pas – and was specially screened by the Pentagon just months after Mr. Bush declared victory in Iraq on May 1, 2003. So the general almost certainly knew that, counterintuitively to the hierarchical mind-set, more military action by foreigners would only escalate the resistance.
We also know The Surge was remarkably small, and yet had an almost miraculous result: Much less violence. How could that be?
The genius of General Petraeus was to heed the lessons from The Battle of Algiers (and nearly all other occupations) and withdraw U.S. – and so-called "coalition" – troops from direct action as much as possible and turn things over to the locals –
In community after community, Sunni groups who were once in league with al-Qaeda have switched sides and are working with the U.S. forces. On the Shiite side of Iraq’s sectarian chasm, something similar is happening. About 70,000 local, pro-government groups, a bit like neighborhood watch groups, have formed to expose extremist militias, according to Stephen Biddle of the Council on Foreign Relations…. – USA TODAY, 13 December, 2007
By the way, the "once in league with al-Qaeda" above is mostly a sop to the home audience since according to the U.S. military’s own figures, "al-Qaeda In Iraq" comprises less than 2% of the "insurgents." And some quite credible BBC-affiliated skeptics even suggest al-Qaeda itself may be an inadvertent creation of the U.S. Justice System.
So, let’s put the pieces together: Despite the P.R. blitz to the contrary and the increase in the number of troops "in country," The Surge was actually in the other direction. Out of combat, not into it. That was the genius of Gen. Petraeus.
And no, one of the oldest cultures in the world can’t gain peace, prosperity, and freedom – and begin to re-govern itself – via thousand-pound bombs, napalm, and torture – especially from outside sources. And despite the U.S. homework deficit and in the face of the childish U.S. Government talking point, the Iraqis are and have been "standing up" and taking responsibility for themselves – tragically, on both sides of the I.E.D.s.
Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki just told the U.S. Government he wants a withdraw deadline for U.S. troops. You know, when a puppet tells his puppet-masters to get lost, maybe it really is time to go, an excellent opportunity to follow The Surge to it’s logical conclusion.
And, while you’re surging – despite Mr. Obama’s sudden tack right – you might want to surge-on straight out of Afghanistan too. And not make the mistake of surging into Pakistan – apparently Mr. Obama’s ticket to ride the militaryindustrialcongressional complex – right alongside Mr. McCain.
And, while you’re at it, why not surge all U.S. troops out of all foreign countries and save the trillion or so dollars of taxpayer money per year Ron Paul estimates that would save. Then, perhaps, you might end military Keynesianism – and even save the U.S. from economic collapse.
So don’t waste any more time, dudes. Surge-on home.
Do it NOW!
July 26, 2008
