“Surge” Fails

This makes it official. Sectarian killings in Baghdad have gone nothing but up after the troop surge got under way, this is a fact. Every claim that you’ve ever heard that they went down was a knowing lie; there is no dispute about the actual statistics. As I am typing this the radio says that mortar attacks are spreading across Baghdad, killing 10 people at a time yesterday and today, and that another major bridge out of Baghdad has been blown up. Various Sunni groups are beginning to fight each other, this is a sign that all sides feel that the defeat of the Americans is inevitable and they can afford to fight amongst each other over the coming spoils. From Reuters here’s a sample of what happened today:

NEAR FALLUJA – Three Iraqi children were killed when a U.S. tank fired at insurgents planting roadside bombs near the Sunni town of Falluja, west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD – A U.S. soldier died of wounds sustained from a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.
SULAIMAN BEK – The body of tribal figure Rokan al-Jubouri was found in the town of Sulaiman Bek, 250 km (150 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. The body bore signs of torture.
SHIRQAT – A suicide car bomber killed five Iraqis, including two soldiers and two policemen when he attacked a joint Iraqi security checkpoint on Friday in the northern Iraqi town of Shirqat, police said.
NEAR TUZ KHURMATO – Insurgents destroyed a major bridge in northern Iraq that connects the capital to the northern cities of Kirkuk and Arbil, police said. Militants planted explosives across Sarha Bridge, near the town of Tuz Khurmato which lies around 150 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad. The blast severely damaged half the length of the bridge forcing motorists into detours and traffic jams.

Meanwhile, the fighting between Sunnis is being spun by Bush supporters as some sort of positive development, as if “our enemies are killing each other” and this will be to the U.S. advantage in “defeating Al Qaeda.” Some news outlets even quote US officials saying that American forces are “joining in the battle” against Al Qaeda in Iraq. But here’s what the mayor of the battle district says:

Abdul Khaliq said he hoped U.S. forces would stay out of the fight. “But if the Americans interfere, it will blow up, because they are the enemy of us both, and we will unite against them and stop fighting each other,” he said.

It’s not hard to figure out. Iraqis are beginning to behave as if the Americans are on their way out. The “surge” has failed.