Did the surge really succeed "beyond our wildest dreams"? According to a group of UCLA geographers, no way man (pdf):
Our findings suggest that in these terms the surge has had no observable effect, except insofar as it has helped to provide a seal of approval for a process of ethno-sectarian neighborhood homogenization that is now largely achieved but with a tremendous decline in the extent of residential intermixing between groups and a probable significant loss of population in some areas. That is the message we take from the nighttime light data we have presented. Furthermore, the nighttime light signature of Baghdad data when matched with ground data provided by the report to the US Congress by Marine Corps General Jones and various other sources, makes it clear that the diminished level of violence in Iraq since the onset of the surge owes much to a vicious process of interethnic cleansing.
So now when you're arguing with that Hannity-watching uncle or those Bush-loving coworkers you can pull out this ultimate surge trump card and prove to them, scientifically, that the surge didn't work. Unless you're worried that people who reject the scientific consensus on global warming and think the planet is about 6000 years old might also reject the use of nighttime light signature distributions to evaluate the effectiveness of military tactics.
But does that really sound likely? C'mon. No, I'm sure they'll relent in the face of your irrefutable evidence, renounce their entire right-wing worldview, and demand that you take them to the next anti-war rally.
Quick, somebody tell Obama. See if he changes any of his positions.
Posted by: Thomas Daulton | Friday, September 26, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Well, that's exactly what we did with Bosnia and Kosovo. We were well on the way to doing it in Macedonia until we were rudely interrupted by 9/11.
Posted by: angryman@24:10 | Monday, September 29, 2008 at 04:49 AM