How long will the Media ride the MYTH of the "surge"??

[annabanana]

I hear the bobbleheads yak about how well McLame stacks up against the Democrats in the area of National Security. They invariably trot out the "surge" as a reason for those numbers.

Well. . If the media harps on "how well the surge has worked". There has been a "decrease in violence in Baghdad" endlessly, of course the numbers will reflect it.

1) It was an escalation. They are still there, well after a year has gone by. ("There has been a "decrease in violence in Baghdad"? Well, not so much in the last month or so..hello? NBC?)

2) We are told that there has been a "Sunni Awakening in Anwar Province".. The Sunnis have turned against Al Qaida and are helping us track them down. (We have been paying Sunni militiamen, and arming them. When they close out any remaining foreign fighters, where do you think they'll aim those guns next?)

3) A minor point. Muqtada al Sadr, the powerful Shi'ite cleric who controls the bulk of the Mahdi Army in Baghdad, has had a ceasefire in place for well over six months now. It was recently renewed, after dispatches went out that it might end. (hmmm ... I wonder if any money changed hands). His control over this army is not as secure as it once was. There have been reports in the media that elements in this large group are unhappy sitting on their hands and, indeed, part of the recent uptick in incidents might reflect this. If there are more "incidents" in Baghdad, he might release the army to cover the fact that his control has slipped.

And NONE of the above points brings up the most salient fact of the matter. The "breathing room" for political progress in "National Reconciliation" between the warring factions of Iraq has not yielded any demonstrable results.

(Did the Sunni members of the Council ever "walk back" after their walk out? Please catch me up)

And yet the word goes out.. "The surge has been a resounding success"

And who is calling the media on this ongoing falsehood?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. First week of November?

:shrug:

[babylonsister]

2. Cheney was just on blathering about how well the surge has worked.

Again, if they say it enough, they expect us to believe it.

[annabanana]

4. I want the bobbleheads to start challenging it.

Maybe we could get Keith to mention it. .

[stellanoir]

3. As long as the handsomely paid bobble heads are being compensated for

masquerading as truth tellers.

[Solly Mack]

5. More lies to cover the original lie

[spanone]

the media takes their talking points from the pentagon without question...what to expect?

[spanone]

6. the media takes their talking points from the pentagon without question...what to expect?

[wuushew]

7. Don't worry the body count will be up again by summer

No matter how anyone defines "success" the cumulative wear and tear on machinery continues unabated. Throwing money at machines doesn't fix the metal fatigue in the airframes. I fully expect more helicopter or V-22 accidents soon.

Also in my opinion, violence in Iraq is strongly correlated to two factors: temperature and the dates of religious holidays. Ramadan has been falling in the fall in recent years and as we all remember Baghdad had a freak snow fall this winter.

[annabanana]

8. A question about the holidays..

Are any of the Shia & Sunni holidays specifically founded on events designed to rub each other's noses in their differences? (You know, like the Orange Parades through the Green neighborhoods in Northern Ireland on July 12th - Battle of the Boyne Commemorations?)

[Nederland]

9. Until the numbers change

Right now, all the numbers say the surge is working. Until the numbers change (as you predict), the media will continue to say that the surge is a success.