Claims made by the Republicans, especially John McCain, that the surge has worked. These claims are misleading.
- Surge has worked to temporarily quell violence, but has not empowered the Iraqi military
- Surge has sent 5 more brigades to Iraq, but stretched military too thin
- Surge hasn't delivered what it was supposed to - Iraqi government has not figured out political solution
- Surge has cost American taxpayers too much money
- Surge still has not set terms of success or timetable for ending occupation
- Surge has not made America safer
- Surge has caused us to take eye off the ball of Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Surge was not responsible for Anbar Awakening. Anbar Awakening is what's made a difference
- Bob Woodward's exhaustive research concludes that it's counterinsurgency tactics, not surge itself, that has changed the situation on ground in Iraq
- Surge has emboldened Iran
This is a work in progress. I'm going to use this as a Wiki - please share links and comments below and I'll update throughout the next 24 hours.
temporarily quelled violence
Slow gains by Iraqi military