Helena Cobban on Iraq violence and The Surge

Helena Cobban writes in Bush's 'Surge': How successful? Just World News blog 07/28/08.

I record the latest spikes of violence with an incredibly heavy heart and no thought of schadenfreude. But they do, certainly, undercut the claims of those who have been crowing "the surge has succeeded."

"Succeeded" for whom? Not yet at all for Iraqis, though the casualty figures among US troops are sharply reduced.

Once again I urge that instead of looking at whether Bush's adoption of the surge "worked" or not, it would be far better to look at the costs and consequences of the fact that for 18 months now he has steadfastly refused to follow the excellent recommendations put forward by the Iraq Study Group back in December 2006.

Tags: helena cobban, iraq war