And how many deaths will it take till we know, that too many people have died?

Bush et al keep claiming the escalation surge is working and continually point to Anbar Province as evidence. But Bushco didn't put extra troops into Anbar. And Iraq didn't put extra troops into Anbar. What the US did was arm the militias in Anbar. Hmm, arming dictators and militias has always worked so well in the past.

Baghdad, where the US has actually concentrated the 'surge,' is worse off than ever.

American deaths, regardless of the spin that you hear, remain the same from when the 'surge' began. Iraqi civilian deaths, regardless of the spin you hear, are at record levels.

So how is the 'surge' working? Only in a PR way.

Bush says the surge is working, even tho the evidence contradicts him. Dem Presidential candidates acknowledge 'there is progress in Iraq', even tho the evidence contradicts them.

Even more Americans think the surge is working, because the spin is working. A multi-month, multi-faceted ad campaign by Bushco, a constant reframing (AKA moving the goal posts) of the mission has had the desired effect:

Freedom's Watch, a conservative group with ties to the Bush administration, launched a multimillion dollar ad blitz Wednesday to pressure lawmakers wavering in their support of the Iraq war to stand strong behind President Bush and resist calls for withdrawal, a move the ads characterize as "surrender."

'Ties to the White House' is putting it mildly. But wait, there's more! Bushco learned that swiftboating works. That's why Vets for Freedom was launched. Surprise, surprise, surprise, it has major ties to Bushco.

It may seem like hubris that I claim the escalation of the war isn't working, after all, who am I to contradict these current and potential leaders?

I'm a person who doesn't live in the beltway and doesn't watch network or cable news, but I do look at numbers, and the numbers put the lie to this offensive PR offensive. I urge you to look at the numbers, follow the links, and not listen to the spin.


Cross posted at VidiotSpeak