Is it my imagination or are things getting bad again in Iraq? I've already blogged about how our efforts in Iraq are jeopardizing our effort in Afghanistan, but since the first of the year, I've heard of multiple attacks that have resulted in US military casualty. Does that suggest that a draw down in the so called "troop surge" back down to pre-surge levels mean a return to pre-surge casualties? Then all the rhetoric about "the surge is working"… well sure it works, just like reduced class sizes works. If you reduce the "SU Troop to Insurgent" ratio, then you have better control over the classroom. Why everyone was so content to ignore the possibility that an unsustainable surge was as temporary as the strategy is a shocking display of short sightedness.
As I've mentioned, I don't think that it's fair to tear up a country and then leave them hanging, (like we're doing in Afghanistan), but if I had to prioritize, I would start troop withdrawal from Iraq and put resources into intelligence so we can keep a very close eye on what is going on there. In the meantime, we should be aggressively rebuilding our military and rehabilitating our physically and emotional wounded soldiers.
This entire situation disturbs me SO terribly; the way that GWB and company have run this country into the ground is so sad and painful. I want to be proud to be an American, but it's hard right now.
