Is the Surge Working?

On the morning after of President Bush's ballyhooed veto, let's consider an article by Terrence Jeffrey at Townhall that suggests that maybe the Surge Strategy isn't working.

Petraeus explained President Bush's chosen tactic: using our military to suppress violence to give Iraq's government time to make the reforms. This tactic rests on the additional hypothesis that the Iraqi government truly wants to make the reforms.

The tactic proposed by congressional Democrats is to threaten the withdrawal of U.S. troops if the Iraqi government does not meet deadlines for achieving the reforms. This tactic rests on the additional hypothesis that the Iraqi government does not truly want to make the reforms.

An early analysis of how the president's tactic is working yields two conclusions: Americans are dying in greater numbers for it, and Iraqi politicians are not paying us back with the political progress this American sacrifice demands.

The Iraqi Parliament has yet to really put in place those reforms that will preserve their country. Bad news for us; since the long term success of the surge depends on them making those reforms.