Parsing 'Surge' Commentary, Schieffer Gets To The Heart Of The Matter

Much has been made of Representative John Murtha and his supposed "hell freezing over" moment of praising the success of the "surge" in Iraq, and most of it has been wrong. But if there's a takeaway from Murtha's statements on the surge, it's that he's striven to be entirely fair in his analysis. And Murtha's fair contentions were ably supported by Virginia Senator Jim Webb, who, with a son in the Iraq theater of war, can hardly be thought of as a man who would cheer on "defeat."

Webb's lengthy analysis on Meet The Press -- which as noted elsewhere was hefty enough to keep interlocutor Tim Russert sidelined -- delivered thoughtfully and without a trace of partisan passion advances the premise that the "surge" has not wrought success in itself, but the opportunity for success to be seized. As Webb notes:

So those components have come together, they have coupled with the fact that wherever the American military has gone they have done their job tactically, whether it was the initial invasion or now, and they have given us this moment. And I think Secretary Negroponte spoke yesterday of having this, this interval as well. We need to take advantage of this in a regional way, not simply an Iraq way.

The assessments from Murtha and Webb stand in contrast to the rhetoric of those who widely regard the "surge" as a completed mission and proof of concept for the entire Iraq War in the first place. The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, for example, is billing the "surge" as the "most successful counter-insurgency effort in the history of the world." If only he had tipped off the environmental lobby in advance of these overheated, over-the-top comments! We might have harnessed the geothermic energy generated by all the spinning within the graves at Normandy.

Nevertheless, it was CBS' Bob Schieffer who most ably summed up the moment. Urging against the re-appearance of the "Mission Accomplished" banner, Schieffer opined:

Things have quieted down considerably. The additional troops the administration put into Iraq this year have made a difference, frankly more of a difference than I would have thought, and those troops deserve great credit.

But we must also keep our eye on the prize - or in this case, the continuing lack of one.

The whole idea of sending those troops in was to quiet things down so the factions within the Iraqi government could work out ways to share power and rule the country.

And so far, they haven't moved an inch.

[For the video of Schieffer's remarks, click here.]

Comments

[Insiteful]

Schieffer is late coming to these conclusions - he's hardly a maverick.

Did you know he was a distant cousin of The Chimp?

[msmaggie]

Bob S remains the pick of the litter on tv news.

[OhgReaTone]

Keeping Russert sidelined is most useful tact any guest can manage. Russert was once a great host - but he has become so enamored with himself and his celebrity status that he no longer has value.
Ohg.
http://thefiresidepost.com/2007/11/25/media-hosts-fail-as-celebrities/

[booker52]

If the Iraq government cannot get it together, it doesn't matter how well this surge works. This country is still a mess and 6 years on we need to leave. We also don't need military bases or that damn billion dollar embassy there.

[bluesnot]

It's like the man won the lotto. Yeah, his $10 scratch-off ticket paid him fifty bucks. The past was behind him. He's a WINNER, even though, over the past three years, he spent $10,000 on loser scratch-off tickets that sit piled high in the back seat of his car.

[scrzbill]

And they are spinning the hell out of what Murtha said. What about the Berlin wall that was built to separate the two warring sides?

[Stevelagain]

Jason, well written. It's nice to see something factual and common sense instead of the typical radicalization we so often see from the left.

Yes, the surge has worked, our troops have done well. But does it get us where we want to go or not?

If Iraq continues to remain a failed state politically, Al Qaeda will be back in a flash because failed states is where they thrive.

Is this just a breather until Al Qaeda reconstitutes and the civil war starts up again or will this lead to real and positive political solutions?

[Ginzaman]

All this is is yet another network hack covering his ass while trying to appear to be "cautiously liberal." Of course, if he actually told the truth then he would be fired just like his buddy Rather. But as you can see by the wording of his commentary he's far too smart to do that.

[ajax2]

Schieffer is a day late. GW and Maliki agreed to a indefinite occupation and colonization of Iraq, an outright admittance that the surge failed.

[Incredulous]

America lied to the world, and invaded a country that had no WMDs, and that had nothing to do with 911 in the first place. Then America completely botched the invasion, creating a new haven for terrorists, destablizing the whole Middle East, driving up the price of oil, and making a whole new generation of enemies for itself and the West. And now all you people care about is the fucking surge!? I guess Americans are too stupid to recognize a red herring. Yes, folks, it's ALL about the surge. Pay no attention to those men behind the curtain. Why worry, when you can jump into your SUV and go shopping at the nearest mall.

[ZsaZsa]

This just proves how relatively simple the situation is for the American people to grasp. Yet our elected officials insist on keeping us dumb and ill-informed. They'll say "the surge is working" and leave it at that, like we're not capable of understanding the details. Christ, they'd say "the surge is working" even if it weren't working.

[Ladyrantsalot]

The so-called "surge" accompanied one of the most intense episodes of ethnic cleansing in history. Religiously segregated neighborhoods have now been "cleansed." Now that Baghdad's ethnic cleansing has approached completion, the violence that was instrumental to this ethnic cleansing is back down to the March 2006 levels. Morally and politically, this is not progress. Round and round we go....

[itsnotmyfault]

Bob Schieffer,
Thank you for your work and your tireless commitment to the truth.

[research]

Murhta also said not the trust the pentagon and BushCo, the very sources for his Surge comments.

[zendem1]

Long before the pansies with good hair and dimples and the silicone blondes who blew their way under the anchor desk, journalists had something called integrity. Schieffer is the only one out there today who talks straight, covers good stories that matter, and who should be anchoring the CBS News every night. Thank you Bob. After you're gone there will be nothing left.