Arguments in its favour have focused on the reduction of violence. Various metrics, from Americans killed to the number of corpses dumped at local morgues, are advanced to validate its success. But this line of thought confuses stability with American interests. Stability in allied countries is, of course, highly desirable and strategically significant. But is it clear that the government in Baghdad will remain an American ally after the military leaves, whether that's in 16 months, two years, or five years?
The fever-pitched debate over judgment and the surge has ducked the single most critical issue: whether the Maliki government - undoubtedly now more effective in carrying out a government's business as a result of the larger American troop presence - and its likely Shiite successors will prove to be strong allies of the United States and bulwarks against Tehran. If not, then the surge will have served Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's and Tehran's strategic interests - but not those of the United States.
http://newageislam.com/the-surge--how-much-of-a-success?/islam-and-the-west/d/360
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1:19 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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