More Surge News

Give Em Surrender Harry Reid's claim - that the four al Qaeda in Iraq suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Baghdad Wednesday were proof that the surge has failed - is disingenuous at best. The truth is that Al Qaeda in Iraq is under tremendous pressure on two fronts. Al Qaeda is under attack in Anbar, fighting not only U.S. soldiers, but also their former Sunni hosts. And many of the al Qaeda that were in Baghdad, at least those who have not already fallen to the surge, have now largely fled to Diyala province. Diyala is an area that the U.S. intends to target as a part of the surge once all forces are on the ground. This is not a failure, nor is it Biden's water balloon theory in action. It is a textbook counterinsurgency operation.

Max Boot at the Weekly Standard has an excellent article covering his most recent trip to Iraq. He addresses Baghdad and his conversations with General Petraeus, as well as the state of hostilities in Anbar and Diyala Province. His assessment, thre are a lot of problems, but there have been substantial gains. The surge is quite viable. Take note, Give 'Em Surrender Harry.