Surge 'success' fades with resurgence of violence - Updated

By Libby I've never understood how people were lulled into thinking the surge really succeeded in establishing security in Iraq. It seemed rather apparent, even to my under-schooled eyes, that the surge was a gimmick. It reminded me of those bait and switch promotions that unscrupulous retailers used to engage in. The surge raised the violence to greater levels and then lowered the numbers with artificial manipulations to a level that had been judged unacceptable when the surge began. But all that too many Americans seemed to notice was that the levels dropped. For some reason, the relative metrics just didn't register. Of course, Americans weren't the only ones fooled. Iraqis were buying into the false assurances as well, and now suffer real pain in their disappointment. As one resident put it, after this latest suicide bombing: “I came back to work here because I have to pay rent and I need to support my family,” he said. “I thought everything was starting to get better but then this happened. I think things are going to get worse. It’s chaos.” The surge has failed. Security quietly slides back into uncertainty with 64 dead in Iraq and this is only the latest in a string of recent resurgence of violence. Furthermore, the whole point, as few outside of Leftopia seem to remember, was to give the Iraqis 'space' to build a unity government. It's not going to happen. The reconciliation is dead. Iraq's VP won't sign the DeBaath law. That would be the one that was widely touted only a few weeks ago by the White House and its supporters as proof positive that everything is coming up roses. The surge has failed to meet its stated goal. The political success was not for the Iraqis but for Bush, who will now succeed in running out the clock and leaving his successor with an intractable mess. Judging by Bush's recent signing statements, it's clear that was the real plan all along. I don't know how he could be any more disgusting, but I'm afraid we'll find out if we don't impeach him. Update: Typos corrected with thanks to my human spell checker. For the record, assuming it's true, I think it's just horrible that whoever was behind this latest disaster used Down's women to perpetrate the bombings but I don't see it as a sign of desperation. I see it as a sign of adaptation and a brilliant one at that. Perhaps Mr. Owens can educate me on how our troops are supposed to counter this new evil tactic? That would be helpful.