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Further Proof of the Success of the Surge

April 16th, 2008
By SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist

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IRAQI SOLDIERS FLEE AFTER DESERTING TUESDAY NIGHT IN SADR CITY

How many more Americans will have to die before the folly of the Iraq war collapses in on itself?

Hundreds? Thousands? (Some 25 have died this month alone, a return to pre-Surge levels.)

Proving yet again that the Baghdad government is unwilling and unable to take advantage of the opening that the military phase of the Surge strategy provided, there has been another round of Iraqi army desertions during a crucial battle, this time in the Sadr City slum district of Baghdad.

The New York Times reports that:

“The retreat left a crucial stretch of road on the front lines undefended for hours and led to a tense series of exchanges between American soldiers and about 50 Iraqi troops who were fleeing.

“Capt. Logan Veath, a company commander in the 25th Infantry Division, pleaded with the Iraqi major who was leading his troops away from the Sadr City fight, urging him to return to the front.

” ‘If you turn around and go back up the street those soldiers will follow you,’ Captain Veath said. ‘If you tuck tail and cowardly run away they will follow up that way, too.’

“Captain Veath’s pleas failed, and senior American and Iraqi commanders mounted an urgent effort to regain the lost ground. An elite Iraqi unit was rushed in and with the support of the Americans began to fight its way north.

“This episode was a blow to the American effort to push the Iraqis into the lead in the struggle to wrest control of parts of Sadr City from the Mahdi Army militia and what Americans and Iraqis say are Iranian-backed groups.”

More here.

Photograph by Joao Silva for The New York Times



This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 3:05 am and is filed under Bush Administration, Military Affairs, Withdrawal, Surge, Iraq. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 15 Comments

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    We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. "The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me."


    I don't know why you are complaining, this is what America voted for.
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    I'm pretty sure the answer is to put more money into the military budget.
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    Wow there is fighting in Iraq! And of course Shaun thinks it's bad. Great to get new insights and a fresh perspective.
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    I wish I could put some of the great thinkers commenting on the mess in Iraq in charge of the decision making that will get us out. I would relish the chance to sit back and hold them accountable for every bad thing that happens from there on.

    It was a tragic mistake to go into Iraq, It was a tragic mistake to go in with the small footprint paradigm. It was done and can't be undone. Get over it.

    I am bitter (yes, bitter) that George W and his pals will never be held accountable for their bad decisions, but it isn't going to save any American lives or help any Iraqis to put theirs back together to go on and on about it.

    The reality is that there is no quick and safe way to get out. The consequences are unpredictable, and it's a matter of trying to choose what is least likely to cause a total disaster. If the result is a regional war, trust me, the US as a whole will be held accountable , and the most accountable of all will be the one who took on the role of the deciider.

    So, who here is volunteering for the job of deciding and being held accountable?

    Having got that off my chest, it occurred to me to wonder what role the stress of firing on one's own people has in the cowardice of the Iraqi military. They don't experience these battles with American sensibiliites, or lack thereof, of that i"m sure. I don't know. Just wondering.
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    I'm sure plenty of you wish the US troops were doing the same thing, _and_ that the hole left by the evacuation was filled by the "freedom fighters" such as al-Qaeda.
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    The reality is that there is no quick and safe way to get out. The consequences are unpredictable, and it's a matter of trying to choose what is least likely to cause a total disaster. If the result is a regional war, trust me, the US as a whole will be held accountable , and the most accountable of all will be the one who took on the role of the deciider.


    The original sin will still belong to those who took us into war. Pulling our troops out is the only choice. The occupation is immoral and costing us trillions while providing no tangible benefits to us or the Iraqi people.
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    Chris www,

    That means you are volunteering to be accountable for the consequences, right?
    Or, will you be saying 'if Iknew then what I know now'?

    Personally, I think this will play itself out in ways we can't predict.
    Our rapidly deteriorating military will determine some decisions. Changes in casualty levels will detrmine others. AQ activity will determine others.
    I just don't think that making sweeping statements in a very complex and rapidly changing and unstable situation is very helpful. When you're walking through a mine field, you take one careful step at a time.

    To quote (paraphrase) Obama: we should be as careful leaving as we were careless going in. While we're being careful, the unexpected can always overtake all plans. A civil war is not completely off the atable, you knwo. neither is alSadr going on the offensive.
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    I don't have the exact words for the message I'm trying to convey. Suffice to say, I disagree with the premise that advocates of withdrawal are responsible for the aftermath of a war they didn't necessarily advocate for in the first place. After all, we wouldn't have to withdraw from Iraq had we not gone in there.
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    Chris www,
    You're right , in a sense,
    Let me try to explain what I'm saying.

    Imagine being on a boat with someone who throws a child into the lake, jumps off the boat and swims away.
    Is it enough for you to say that it's not your fault. that you didn't throw the child into the water?
    Should you immediately swim after the culprit to bring him to justice?
    Or should you just see what you can do to save the drowning child?

    Our entabglement in Iraq is the drowning child.
    For me, the burning question is how to get out of the lake without killing the child or ourselves.
    We can settlle political scores later.
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    We can settlle political scores later.

    The Republicans have pegged their political lives to Iraq. That's a consequence of having used it as a bludgeon against the Democrats in 2004 and 2006 (even though it stopped working then). So, it'd be nice to think we could all sit down and hammer out a good solution for Iraq, but it's not going to happen. How quickly was the Iraq Study Group shown the door and forgotten?

    Too many people have their reputations staked on the outcome of the war for anything like a bipartisan consensus to emerge.

    And besides, you're the one who brought up the issue of responsibility :-)