The point of the surge was to allow the Iraqi government time to regroup and lead Iraq back to health in some coherent manner. However, the Iraqi government is weaker now then before the surge. The bombing in the green zone, Sadr ministers (important to Al-Maliki) resigning from the government, all demonstrates the Iraqi government cracking, becoming weaker. From a strategic point of view the surge is a disaster. (How many disasters is a President allowed anyways?)

There are some tactical gains where parts of Bagdad are relatively safer (the operative term relatively), while in areas around Baghdad the violence has increased. These small tactical gains the WH will spin that the surge is working and maybe if we are lucky we will see Cheney in a heavily armed and fortified ice cream truck festooned like a porcupine with heavy caliber machine guns, driving through downtown Baghdad, little ice cream bell tinkling, to prove it. However when it becomes undeniable, even to the Baghdad Bobs in the WH and the beltway, that not only has the surge failed, but Iraq itself is failing, they'll blame the liberals in Congress for undermining the surge. It is incredibly insipid and arrogant, but smarts, integrity and being accountable is not a neo-con strong suit. They are good at CYA propaganda though.

Its easy to see what the great neo-conservative Iraq excuse will be in years to come:

"We were just about to win the war when the America-hating-French-speaking-tree-hugging-pink-liberals got control of congress and brought our brave troops home.

Iraq was not a defeat. No, it was a glorious victory stolen liberal cowards.

Just a few more months would have made all the difference. If only the Democrats in Washington had listened to wise council of their fellows like Joseph Lieberman and kept their nerve.

Now Iraq has gone to hell, America's interests in the entire region are threatened, Israel wants more money and weapons, and the price of oil has doubled.

And all because of those America-haters in Washington who don't understand what war means and don't get what true patriotism is. They've given victory to the freedom hating Islamic hordes and made the sacrifice of over 3000 brave young American heroes worthless."

Jeez!

I should charge Jonah Goldberg for the use of all the above and then do a toned down "mistakes were made" version for David Brooks...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003571876

NEW YORK A new survey of 1,502 adults released Sunday by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that despite the mass appeal of the Internet and cable news since a previous poll in 1989, Americans' knowledge of national affairs has slipped a little. For example, only 69% know that Dick Cheney is vice president, while 74% could identify Dan Quayle in that post in 1989.

Other details are equally eye-opening. Pew judged the levels of knowledgability (correct answers) among those surveyed and found that those who scored the highest were regular watchers of Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Colbert Report. They tied with regular readers of major newspapers in the top spot -- with 54% of them getting 2 out of 3 questions correct. Watchers of the Lehrer News Hour on PBS followed just behind.

Virtually bringing up the rear were regular watchers of Fox News. Only 1 in 3 could answer 2 out of 3 questions correctly. Fox topped only network morning show viewers.

"Sitting on this vast - and probably last - reserve insures they will retain this grip until the oil age - or the dollar - collapses."

It is my seriously considered opinion that the latter will occur first, and much sooner than even the neocon's (who are to blame for it) expect. The dollar has declined more than 50% against the Euro since Bush destroyed the surplus, and the trend of the dollar's decline is still firmly in place. The only reason this has not (yet) become a huge issue here is that China needs to keep exporting at an insane rate to keep the population under control and we're their biggest market. The mortgage market is also weakening significantly, and if you haven't paid attention to the talk of increasing foreclosure rates in your area, you should. Like politics, a good deal of economics is also local.

This "small but powerful group" has managed to do what the Soviets wanted to do: bury us; they've done it economically through the costs of this insane war. But don't worry for the wealthy elite who have supported Bush through all this, they'll be fine since they know all about currency hedging and protecting assets. The people who will suffer are those of us who are reading this blog and all our similarly economic non-elite neighbors. And the Bushies are fine with that; afterall, a poor and stressed populace is much easier to manipulate and propagandize to. That certainly fits into their plan to destroy the foundations of our democracy and install an authoritarian state with plenty of ants to do their bidding.

You don't have a to scratch a neocon very deeply to find the authoritarian who believes that "little people" should have no say in government, and that it should be left to those of the superior classes such as themselves. They hate the very foundations of what the American democratic system is based on; once you realize that then their actions make total sense.

Wasn't there a time that it was respectable that the "do-it" unto other's means it will be "done-unto-you?" It was a universal truism that a sane person believed a natural payback was always in motion...SAY--if you used another to shoot a slug-ball, a lead-slug would travel round and round the globe till it caught up with the shooter? Frankly and karmic-ally speaking, Yes.

A good orchestra is usually below the stage floor, unseen, playing beautiful uplifting music? Yes. The drummer and horns, and the rest of the brass, flute, and strings, were not to distract...unseen, and beneath the platform. Yes.

The ("Surge") lyrics is kill-dirge. The combined K.K.K's you mentioned who are so out-o-tune, and The 'Haite' Etceters too, are not "sober" tee-toot-tilers who do good with a garden hoe instrument.

The brighten a world with a harmonious symphony, they are NOT. Nora are they GROUNDED or civil, but more honestly, they are the neo-barbarians tap-dancers. The band of hairy faced "Orangutans" could harmonize a greater collective chorus that would deserve an applause for a "well-done-job, if they were not "fill-in" for kill-choirmasters?

There are grounds, immediately, that these minstrel-killers should be banned, voluntarily QUIT, and be so disgraced they NEVER have any public facilities respect them, or offer them a paystub. Where are checks and balances?

They say we should "do-it." O, if democrats don't let the bloody-Iraq war succeed, they will not have the 'Victory" parade? When? In Hell? They are philanders, murderous, and the proverbial fox in sheep wool hides, and blithely bloat "p**p" ill-secretions.

A ORCHESTRION like these bad-theologies of wheelchair roller Krauthammer's, are in all the wrong helm-fox-holes. They should stay beneath the ground as obnoxious stinking murderous...demographic sociological, frankfurter "gyrators." Respect? I am sick of them.

So we esteem a McCain bomber of civilian bare-foot agrarians, and we esteem a Mr. Kagan and a Keegan-tribune of rotten chicory-groundhog...and we boast we have had legitimate grievances for divorce (now dress drag)...So, the next glorious orchestra band of death-player's beating war-drums...Get to SING, and we citizens, ( "Civil") can Applaud? O, What a neo-Symphony Grand Chorus in our age. gads.

What a glorious collective hell-shrill ("Surge") of "respected" KKK., Etcetera Symphony Orchestra!

If Saint W.C. Fields and Wrigley Star Studded Band of Wrigglers...Yuck...___! apologies to you know who. What genocide's...and Yea, "what-if" we go to hell for free for listening, paying, and not doing a better hardball-lobby to SHAME them into a hell-of-'um own makings?

O, if "good-blood" money was wasted so warmongers can be given more exploited cheap peasant labor (Vietnam), sell toaster, firecracker, and build Wall-Mauls and drank rice-wine, huh?

Well, you can respect a human. O, but when a human-ORANGUTAN ORCHUS WACKY ORCHSTRION says we can "do-it"....Dar, DEA, DA, DOA, ...A hell with these puny-monstrosity of fallen-humanity's...Yikes. No.

"Be careful what you ask for is right!"

I swear I went on the porch to 'wee' and wished to take a silent 5th....(of rye into the wild-windy-woods, instead) But thanks for tolerating and not judging me. Please master, don't whip me, and send the KKK's and Haits on a dessert vacation hiatus? Surge them quickly into an orangutan paradise?

apologies to the non-human peafowl kingdom, and especially to good donkey's and musical box monkey grinder's everywhere.

They are like the evil spirit Brutus, and brutes would sing a sonnet about eating a killing Duncan doughnut? Yuck to 'um. No respect their bestiality's, please.