The "Surge" is working?

Firstly, if less of our brave soldiers, sailors and airmen are being killed: Thank God. We hear that the "Surge" in Iraq is "working". But frankly I am not convinced. What does "working" mean exactly?

That the level of violence has dropped from horrific to merely intolerable?

That in the deadliest year of the war to date we have seen a drop in fatalities?



I am glad that President Bush finally started taking the war seriously - not just as a politocal statement (and oil-grab) but as a military campaign. If he and the admiinistration had listened to General Shinseki we would not have gotten in to this situation. (Even better, if the Bush administration had been more diligent in the search for information on WMD's, we might never have invaded). The ultimiate "slacker" President was finally spurred into action.

A few things though - much of the much-vaunted success (in El-Anbar, for example)

It goes without saying that US Forces are doing an amazing job. Let's remember that the job - as Republicans admit - is POLITICAL. We aren't out of the woods yet.

Oh and by the way, the current estimate for the cost of the war is $3,000,000,000,000.

What could we have bought for this?