Define a surge...

So the Presidents Surge strategy which initially was onyl supposed to be 20,000 troops but has now well surpassed 30,000 troops is now calling 35,000 more troops for replacement duty to maintain the surge. Now we have 35,000 troops who can look forward to 24 hour combat with no safe zones and 15 months tours. Add this all up and you have a combat situation much worse than Vietnam, as Vietnam at least had safe areas in country and down time for soliders whereas the Army in Iraq is subject to 24 hour combat situations where everyone is the enemy. Because of this there is a rise in post traumatic stress disorder which the Bush administration is trying to have redfined to limit how much they need to pay veterans affected by it. But thats another story for another time. The main question is, what defines a surge. In my eyes a surge is a quick and decisive measure taken to ensure security and promote safety. This isnt necessarily the case as now all the militas and deat squads seem to be laying low while suicide bomings are on the rise and US soldiers are dying at a higher rate. It doesnt quite seem like the security is there nor is safety promoted. On top of this, the surge which is a quick decisive move is now going to have to last "into the spring of 2008". As I have said this does not sound like a troop surge but rather troop escalation, much reminiscent of how Vietnam and the troop buildup began.

The other main problem I have with the conflict is that it is an occupation, not a mission to free the Iraqis anymore. A force fighting for the freedom of a people does not evict citizens from their homes to turn them into garrisons and that is exactly the actions being taken by the US military. We really need to take stop and reexamine the situation and how we are conducting ourselves if we ever want this to work.