The surge has worked in Iraq. Well . . . no, not exactly. After years of lies, enormous loss of life on both sides and a history of disasterous decisions by the leadership of our military (starting with the commander in chief), should we now believe that things are going swell? Not according to a reporter in Rolling Stone. This extensive article is far more than a sound bite. The reporter speaks Arabic and traveled within a joint US/Iraqi military unit. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18722376/the_myth_of_the_surge

I doubt if you have the stamina to read it all, but I challenge you to try to work your way through it. I found this quote significant:

"The Bush administration based its strategy in Iraq on the mistaken notion that, under Saddam, the Sunni minority ruled the Shiite majority. In fact, Iraq had no history of serious sectarian violence or civil war between the two groups until the Americans invaded. Most Iraqis viewed themselves as Iraqis first, with their religious sects having only personal importance. Intermarriage was widespread, and many Iraqi tribes included both Sunnis and Shiites. Under Saddam, both the ruling Baath Party and the Iraqi army were majority Shiite."

The surge has allowed the Americans to finish partitioning Bagdad into Sunni and Shia neighborhoods. The two camps are now bitter enemies, all neighborhoods have been ethnically "cleansed." The Sunnis, who are jihadists and Al Qaida, have stopped fighting because they have been formed into armies by the US Army, paid by us and given weapons by us. They are smiling, taking our arms and money, and waiting. They are still Al Qaida and we have armed them. Behind our back, they revile us. It's all in the article. Sure this is one man's opinion, but he's been there and he speaks the language. He has talked to them privately.