It's probably not useful to argue with content written by Fred Barnes, but seriously, to say that "the surge policy is unquestionably working" is to betray an utter vacuum where your knowledge of the Iraq War was supposed to be. To follow Barnes' links, the surge was not supposed to reduce the number of American casualties. Indeed, for the first few months of it, coalition casualties increased because more of our troops were in harm's way. And nor was the surge focused on al-Qaeda in Iraq (who were, in any case, crippled by Sunni rebellion, not American forces). The surge was about increasing security to provide space for political reconciliation. Bush was clear about this in his speech announcing the policy. “When [security improves], daily life will improve, Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Most of Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace -- and reducing the violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible.” Barnes doesn't point to evidence of reconciliation because there's been none. And since there's been none, the surge has failed. --Ezra Klein
