Much has been written about the upcoming reports on the US military efforts in Iraq. Words like redeployment and withdraw have been bandied about, but the favorite in the language of conservatives is surrender. Typical usage: "The defeatist democrats want us to surrender in Iraq."
But the literal definition of surrender at least suggests that the act of surrendering involves compulsion from some other entity. Here is the definition: 1 a: to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand <surrendered the fort> b: to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another; 2 a: to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner b: to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence)
David Petraeus (who must now surely be known as the surgin' General) is expected to provide lawmakers with a question-and-answer session on Tuesday's highly symbolic anniversary of 9/11. Early reports indicate that Petraeus is going to ask for an additional six months to evaluate the efficacy of the Bush administration's latest tactics in Iraq. This request will come despite widely acknowledged reports that the "breathing room" that Iraqi political leaders were supposed to gain from the surge has not been exploited. Apparently some of these leaders couldn't be bothered to confer inside air-conditioned buildings while US soldiers were busy combating insurgents in 130-degree weather.
The early Associated Press reports say that Petraeus thinks he can continue the work of the surge even if some US forces come home. The troop reduction Petraeus indicates that he would be comfortable with is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,500 military men and women – or about 2% of the US force of 155,000.
Petraeus has already written a letter to the US military men and women saying that the surge has not yet yielded all the results he had hoped for. So why then does he need another six months to render an accurate evaluation of the situation?
The answer can be found in the new book Dead Certain by Robert Draper. Bush told Draper that his administration is deliberately dragging its feet on the notion of troop withdraws in the hopes that the next administration will feel comfortable maintaining a US presence in Iraq for years to come.
Which brings us back to the word surrender. How does the invading force in an elective war go about surrendering? By definition, the invading force has established the rules of engagement and consequently controls the definition of success. This administration has succeeded in offering multiple rationales for war while at the same time moving the goal posts of success increasingly out of reach.
Military studies indicate that US forces could be brought home for about 800 million dollars. The war is costing 2 billion per week.
The time has come for this administration to – just once – do the math.