On May 11, 2009, at 9:23 PM, Michael Pollak wrote:
> Bush's decision to launch a surge of forces in Iraq was less a
> military event than a psychological one. Militarily, the quantity of
> forces to be inserted -- some 30,000 on top of a force of 120,000 --
> did not change the basic metrics of war in a country of about 29
> million. Moreover, the insertion of additional troops was far from a
> surge; they trickled in over many months. Psychologically, however,
> it was stunning. Rather than commence withdrawals as so many
> expected, the United States was actually increasing its forces.
That, plus lots of bribe money.
Doug