Bush's Legacy: The Surge

Which has allowed more soldiers to die in a war that has no cause, no reason, and no end.

Last January, after announcing his "surge" strategy, the president called in his technicians. As it turned out, General David Petraeus, "surge" commander in Iraq, has been quite impressive, as has new US ambassador to that country, Ryan Crocker. Think of them as "the undertakers", since they've been the ones who, applying their skills, have managed to give that Iraqi corpse the faint glow of life.

The president asked them to make Iraq look like it could get up and walk away - and the last year of "success", widely trumpeted in the media, has been the result. But just think about what the defense minister and Bush are promising: By 2018, the country will - supposedly - be able to control its own borders, one of the more basic acts of a sovereign state. That, by itself, tells you much of what you need to be know.

Exactly.

Update: The surge is working... ignore the pesky bombs!:

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Violence left nearly 50 people dead in two major southern cities Friday when members of a shadowy, messianic cult attacked police and fellow Shiite worshippers - a year after a similar plot was foiled during Shiite Islam's most important holiday.

Iraqi authorities said at least 36 people were reported killed in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, and at least 10 in Nasiriyah, where witnesses said U.S.-led coalition jet fighters and helicopter gunships targeted a police station seized by cult gunmen.