On January 10, 2007, faced with a failed war in Iraq, President George W.Bush announced his decision of what was billed at the time as a temporary "surge" of U.S. troops into Iraq. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (who is a former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency) told Congress shortly after the President announced his decision (Mr. Bush's decision ignored the advice of the expert Iraq Study Group) that he expected the surge "to last a matter of weeks certainly not months."
The American people were stampeded into war with Iraq. Now we are being lied to for purposes of continuing a failed war. Bush's "surge" was not temporary. It was a major escalation of the Iraq war, and it will last years or decades (according to Gen. David Petraeus) not weeks or months. ~~~cont'd below~~~
Simultaneous with the decision to escalate the U.S. war in Iraq, the neocon authors behind both the war itself and the so-called surge, including Frederick Kagan and retired Gen. Jack Keane, began talking about "surge and sustain" or maintaining increased levels of U.S. troops for at least 18 to 24 months. Gen. Ray Odierno is on board with the "surge and sustain" policy in search of the Holy Grail of "sustained stability" the current Bushco buzzword on Iraq policy. The escalation of the U.S. war in Iraq has been officially extended into 2009 and even beyond "for a protracted period of time" according to SecDef Gates.
Bush billed his surge as a change in strategy although it is really just a change in tactics. Even Petraeus' decade long counterinsurgency campaign is still only a change in tactics not strategy. Perhaps the real change in strategy is the decision made by the Bush-Cheney war regime to side with Sunnis against Shiites. This is the "pick a winner" strategy.
85% of Muslims are Sunni. Saddam was a Sunni. Al Qaeda is Sunni. Saudi Arabia (where 15 of the 19 hijackers originated) is also Sunni and the primary funder of Al Qaeda. Bush has decided to side with these Sunnis who attacked us on 9/11 & have until recently been killing U.S. troops in Iraq against Iraq's Shiite Minority (who Saddam oppressed) including Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army and against the Shia led government of Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. Bush is also taking sides against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. That is the origin of the Kiss of Death for Nouri al Maliki.
According to investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, Vice President Cheney met with Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia and forged this strategy. Saudi Arabia is funding anti-Hezbollah/anti-Syrian forces in Lebanon. President Bush is doing his damnest to make it neigh on impossible for the next President to extricate United States from Iraq, and Bush is painting a bullseye on Iran as Enemy Number One of United States. This is in accordance with the original neoconservative blueprint for U.S. hegemony in the Middle East and the World called "Project for a New American Century" that was shopped to President Clinton before 9/11/01 occurred. Iraq is the first domino in a U.S. campaign to reshape the entire Middle East through the use of force. Iran is to be Domino Number Two.
Nouri al Maliki cannot be allowed to stand in the way of U.S. hegemony in the Middle East and South Asia. Pro-American, CIA & MI5 asset, Iraqi strongman Ayad Allawi awaits in the wings to be recalled to a "government of national salvation:.
This policy of siding with Sunnis against Shiites in Iraq and in a regional sectarian war will doom United States to a generations long war spanning from Lebanon to Pakistan. In the end the United States empire will be broken over the anvil of the Middle East.