Is The Surge Working???

There was a comment on an earlier post of mine that I found interesting:

gypsy hammond said...
The surge is working? That must explain why 2007 has seen the highest level of troop deaths since the war began. But then, defining success downwards has been a hallmark of this war and this administration.

While this reflects the usual "it's all Bush's fault" thought process, what caught my eye was the statement about 2007 being the highest level of troop deaths. So I went to icasualties.org to see if it's true.

And it is.

But Gypsy's comment is a little disingenuous. The commenter states that the Surge isn't working because 2007 has the highest troop deaths so far.

So the critical point is: When did the Surge begin?

President Bush announced the Surge in January 2007, saying that 35,000 additional troops will be sent to Iraq. The troops were deployed between Febuary and May 2007. In June 2007, the Surge's offensive operations began (once all of the troops were fully deployed).

Using Excel and the figures from icasualties.org, I built a chart to better reflect what is happening from January 2006 through November 2007 (click on the image for a larger view):



So clearly, once offensive operations began in June 2007, US military deaths have begun to significantly decline. Coupled with the Anbar Awakening, it really looks like Iraq has turned around for the better.

The media hardly reports on Iraq anymore BECAUSE deaths are down, there are few if any car bombs, etc. etc. It reminds me of the old saying about the news media: "We don't report when a plane lands successfully, only when they crash". That's what is happening with Iraq RIGHT NOW! Even to the point that Afghanistan (which they've ignored for a while) is now being painted as a failure because Iraq is not.

What is really distressing though, is the complete and utter disconnect with reality I am observing from the Democratic Leadership (Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi in particular). They continue to say that the Iraq War is lost. And worse, they are continuing to try and cut off support for the troops to ensure that the war is lost.

Whose side are they on? We can all argue about how the war began, but the reality is that it happened and we need to deal with the current situation. And the current situation shows that the Iraq War can be (and possibly is) won. To continue to try and pull the rug out from under the troops when they are succeeding is one of the most politically suicidal moves I have ever witnessed. The American people may not agree with how the war started or if the war was worthwhile, but few Americans want our troops to lose - and that's something that Reid and Pelosi obviously don't understand.