In Iraq, the surge of optimism recedes

Source: LA Times

In Iraq, the surge of optimism recedes

Without other changes, the troop buildup can have little effect, experts say.

By Tina Susman
Times Staff Writer

8:38 PM PDT, June 16, 2007

Hassan Shimari rarely goes out without his 4-year-old son, not out of fatherly devotion but because he knows there is less chance of being abducted and killed by militiamen if he has the little boy in tow.

Two months ago, even as a Sunni man living in a mainly Shiite district of Baghdad, Shimari had no such fears. In an interview in mid-April, he praised the U.S.-led military "surge" launched in February and said that for the first time in months, he felt safe.

Shimari's change of heart, based on the reappearance of roaming Shiite militiamen and corpses on the streets of his Shaab district, is a small but noteworthy sign of the security plan's failure. "You never know when they are going to take someone and put them in the trunk of the car," Shimari said of the militias. "The killings, it seems, have returned."

The U.S. military says it will be months before the plan's effect is felt. Publicly, it remains optimistic. But some military analysts, soldiers and civilian advisors say the number of U.S. troops and qualified Iraqi forces won't be enough to pacify Iraq for many years. And with Iraq's political, sectarian and economic woes, that makes this a no-win mission unless drastic tactical changes are made, they argue.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-surge17jun17,1,4502806.story?track=rss

Even in the capital, there is frustration with the security plan's setbacks among U.S. troops as well as Iraqis.

"I just know it's not much different than it was seven months ago. We aren't holding ground," said one junior U.S. Army officer in east Baghdad, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear he could lose his job for contradicting senior officers' assessments.

IT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS.

And the "surge" (read escalation) was just more of the same.

All anyone had to do was read DU threads five months ago and they would have known what was going to happen.

Wonder why that is?

Because a rational thing to do in this situation is call for a massive influx of troops, we can't put any more in but other countries could.

And the Bushies aren't even talking about it.

I think they've been told there is no chance any country is putting in troops at this point.

And that's not possible. Not without sacrificing global hegemony in the long run. Which would be a positive side effect.