Iraq Veterans Against the War says the troop surge is a failure

[unhappycamper]

Matt Howard
Branch of service: United States Marine Corps (USMC)
Unit: 1st Tank Bn
Rank: Cpl
Home: Burlington, Vermont
Served in: 29 Palms, CA Iraq Kuwait Iwakuni, JA

I am originally from MA, lived in Montreal after getting out, and now live in VT. I am still processing how I ended up where i did. An anti establishment kid ending up in the corps - its as if i needed to see this shit first hand to confirm all my worst fears. And confirmed they were....

I find it amazing how people refuse to acknowledge that I actually went through a war. Society does not allow us any time to sit with what we just went through. Since getting out I have been constantly forced to justify my life to friends and family, they need to know the plan - what's next. I'm finally comfortable with telling them to fuck off - I need some time, I need some space. Somewhere down the road I want to study hollistic healing / chinese medicine. Helping people instead of killing people, you know what I mean? Life will work itself out. In the meantime, as long as I have a roof over my head and something to eat, I am perfectly happy.


Iraq Veterans Against the War says the troop surge is a failure

by Matt Howard, IVAW member

It seems that in all measurable aspects, the troop surge has failed. Despite what general Petraeus said before Congress, numerous preliminary reports outline what is clearly a failure in this surge strategy. Casualties, both US and Iraqi have exceeded the numbers from last year for every month in 2007. The Iraqi government is no closer to stability than it was a year ago, and in fact, it sometimes seems to be on the verge of collapse. Sectarian violence is still an overwhelming problem for all Iraqis. In May 2003, President Bush announced “Mission Accomplished.” More than four years later, nothing has been accomplished except a civil war, and an area of instability that has serious daily implications for Iraqi civilians and American service members.

As sectarian violence in Iraq erupted in early 2006, the number of casualties of both American service members and Iraqi civilians increased accordingly. Through 2006, an average of 2.39 service members were killed daily in Iraq. The average for 2007 has increased to 3.27. This has occured despite the “surge” that was meant to secure the most vital areas of Baghdad. Not any less shocking are the casualty rates among Iraqi civilians. Sixty Iraqi civilians are killed daily, nearly 35,000 since the Samarra Mosque bombing. For the months January through August, more Iraqi civilians died in 2007 than in the corresponding months in 2006. If the surge is working, why are more Iraqis and US service members dying daily?

In a report issued by the General Accounting Office last week, Iraq has met only three of the 18 benchmarks set by congress. It has “partially” met only four. The Iraqi government has failed on eleven of these goals. Though it is arguable whether we should even have the right to impose our own outside goals on a sovereign nation, even if we allow that, the Iraqi government is no more stable today than it was when US troops began swarming into Baghdad more than eight months ago. If one of the purposes of the surge was to ease security problems in order to give the Iraqi government some time to cooperate and succeed, the surge is failing in this aspect.

President Bush has said time and time again that the proof will come. We have waited for eight months to see the results of the “surge.” We have seen the results, and they indicate that this policy has failed, and will continue to fail. Yet, President Bush insists that if we just wait long enough, things will turn around. My question is; how long do we have to wait?

The surge will not correct the faults in the occupation of Iraq. We are there with no defined mission, no end goal, and no indication of how long this will take. This war has been a series of lies and illusions, meant to lure the American people into supporting the overall policy of international aggression that has been the hallmark of this administration. The surge is not working, and indeed it cannot work. War will never accomplish peace. It is time for the American people to call on their leaders to hold this administration accountable, and allow the Iraqi people to govern themselves without American influence. Stop the surge, end the occupation and bring our brothers and sisters home now.