by Charles
There is no getting around the facts. In the month of May, civilian casualties went up, extra-judicial killings (EJKs) went up, and U.S. military casualties went up. The number of suicide bombings went down.
The troubling part is the EJKs, which could mean several things. It could indicate that Sunni and Shiite militias have ramped up, but the numbers may also include the results of skirmishes between Sunni tribes and al Qaeda. It’s hard to know without examining every single incident. But the statistics aren’t unexpected, as General Petraeus made clear in his DC news conference over a month ago.
The surge strategy is in process but won’t be at full manpower until later this month. At best, there will be three full months from the time of full troop mobilization to General Petraeus’ September briefing on the status of Iraq. It is no coincidence that the next round of funding requests will also occur at that time. For me, I’m giving the surge strategy ’til the end of the year, so I’m reserving judgment on how it is working. There are small signs of progress, such as the salvation councils popping up in the provinces surrounding Baghdad. But there are plenty of signs of little-to-no progress, the most prominent being the lack of political breakthroughs on the national stage.
Read on…