MetaFilter posts tagged with surge

The Economist: The World in 2009

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:00:30 -0800

In 2009, a remarkably gifted politician, confronting a remarkably difficult set of challenges, will have to learn to say "No we can't", Guantánamo will prove a moral minefield, economic recovery will be invisible to the naked eye, governments must prepare for the day they stop financial guarantees, we will judge our commitment to sustainability, scientists should research the causes of religion, we will all be potential online paparazzi, English will have more words than any other language (but it's meaningless), Afghanistan will see a surge of Western (read: American) troops, Iran will continue its nuclear quest while diplomacy lies in shambles, the sea floor is the new frontier, we should rethink aging, (non-)voters will continue to thwart the European project -- but cheap travel will continue to buoy it -- though it has some unfinished business to attend to, and a Nordic defence bond will blossom.

The Economist: The World in 2009. Previously: 2008, 2007. How did we do last time around? And what will we probably be wrong about this time? Guest contributions: President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seeks greater international cooperation and sees a growing global role for the larger emerging economies. Queen of Jordan Rania calls for education reform. Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd calls upon mid-size powers to be creative and effective with their influence. Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero emphasizes the importance of transparency and solidarity in Europe. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, wedged between Russia and the EU, cites historical precedent. Former Secretary of State of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Henry Kissinger argues America will be less powerful, but will still be the essential nation in creating a new world order. Mayor Boris Johnson of London argues against over-regulation. Elections to watch: Brazil, Chile, European Parliament, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan. Also: Russia will enter its first real difficult years under Putin, Brown might not make it, we won't ban nukes but we can pretend, Ontario will receive economic help from other provinces, Australians will grow ever more thirsty, and Britain needs to make stuff again. World in 2009 blog.

The path to 'victory'

homunculus — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:00:52 -0800

Is This a 'Victory'? "We hear again and again from Washington that we have turned a corner in Iraq and are on the path to victory. If so, it is a strange victory."

Baghdad Nights

homunculus — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:12:29 -0800

Baghdad nights: evaluating the US military ‘surge’ using nighttime light signatures (PDF). A team of UCLA geographers using satellite imagery to track the amount of light emitted in Baghdad at night found that electricity use in Sunni neighborhoods fell prior to the surge and never returned, indicating that ethnic cleansing by Shiite militias drove the Sunnis away before the surge began and was largely responsible for the subsequent decrease in violence. [Via Passport]

Surge? More like... something that rhymes with surge.

Caduceus — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:52:08 -0800

The military surge in Iraq is failing. Sure, violence in the country is down significantly, but that's as much due to the Sunni Awakening, which began significantly before the surge got going in 2007. Unfortunately, everyone, particularly the McCain campaign, seems to have forgotten that the goal of the surge was to provide political stability, and it totally hasn't. For starters, the Maliki government is threatening the tribes of the Sunni Awakening, which are currently US funded. Even better, the Maliki government is also getting up in the face of the Kurds. Not to mention the militias following Moqtada al-Sadr, who are currently abiding by a cease fire, but who may well not continue should fighting break out between the government and the Sunni or the Kurds. McCain, while attacking Obama over Obama's opposition to the surge (with Bill O'Reilly's help), doesn't seem to remember that he was none too enthusiastic about it himself, or at least very confused. Even Petraeus, who ought to know better than anyone, is hesitant to agree with the McCain campaign's claims of surge success. Ultimately, whether the US stays there or not, it looks like we've only seen the beginning of war in Iraq.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell -- Kill

digaman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:15:12 -0800

The Surge is working [tm] -- but for gay Iraqis who face a murderous new spate of violence by theocrats and militiamen, notsomuch. "More than 430 gay men have been murdered in Iraq since 2003... [but] many officials say they feel that in a country at war, there are more pressing concerns than gay rights."

A Social History of the Surge

homunculus — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:46:03 -0800

A Social History of the Surge by Juan Cole.

Waiting for the New Way Forward

kirkaracha — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:02:10 -0800

Fables of the Reconstruction. According to a new GAO report [PDF of full report], the surge has resulted in security gains and reduced violence in Iraq, but the political goals the surge was supposed to buy time for mostly haven't happened. From the GAO report:

The Department of Defense reported in March 2008 that the number of Iraqi units capable of performing operations without U.S. assistance has remained at about 10 percent.
Between 2005 and 2007, Iraq spent only 24 percent of the $27 billion it budgeted for its own reconstruction efforts. More specifically, Iraq's central ministries, responsible for security and essential services, spent only 11 percent of their capital investment budgets in 2007--down from similarly low rates of 14 and 13 percent in the 2 prior years.
Since 2003, the United States has provided more than $20 billion to develop Iraqi security forces
Although oil production has improved for short periods, the May 2008 production level of about 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) was below the U.S. goal of 3 mbpd.
The daily supply of electricity met only about half of demand in early May 2008.

Here's what President Bush said the surge would accomplish, with updates: "To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November." That didn't happen. The Iraqi government is taking control of Anbar Province this week. It'll be the 10th province out of 18 that the Iraqi government has taken responsible for--but the first Sunni-controlled one, and the Kurdish and Shiite provinces were previously run by militias that were folded into the government. Security gains in Sunni areas are largely due to co-opting insurgents into the Sons of Iraq. The US military pays the 103,000 overwhelmingly Sunni members $300 a month, but fewer than 17,000 Sons of Iraq members have joined Iraq's security forces and 6,100 more have been approved, leaving around 80,000 unemployed armed men (again?) when the money runs out. "To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis." That didn't happen. Talks are resuming this week. Meanwhile the Iraqi government is about to sign no-bid contracts with several U.S. and European energy companies. "We fear that any such agreements signed by Iraq's Hydrocarbon Ministry without an equitable revenue sharing agreement in place would simply add more fuel to Iraq's civil war." "To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs." That didn't happen. Iraq spent a little over half of the $10 billion allocated in 2007. In 2005 the Iraqi government estimated the total cost of reconstructing Iraq at $200 billion. "To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year." That didn't happen. Provincial elections are scheduled for October 2008, but could be delayed due to disputes over election law. "And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws..." That happened, kind of. The re-Baathification law passed in January but the law isn't being implemented. "...and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution." That didn't happen either, but it might happen in July. Most of the troops that made up the surge have been withdrawn. Violence is down to only 300-850 violent incidents per week after spiking in March and April. Apparently the surge has always had the Maoist name of The New Way Forward; I seem to have missed it until now.

"Thrown Under the Bus" is Thrown Under the Bus. Ouch.

wendell — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:42:53 -0800

"This year, in a gesture of humanitarian relief, the (Lake Superior State University Banished Words) committee restores "truthiness," banned on last year's list, to formal use. This comes after comedians and late-night hosts were thrown under the bus and rendered speechless by a nationwide professional writers' strike. The silence is deafening."
Of course, "(thrown) under the bus"* is on this year's Banished List, along with "perfect storm", "webinar"*, "waterboarding", "post-9/11", "wordsmith", "back in the day", "surge", "x is the new y", "give back" and other seemingly "random" words and phrases.
*One of the requirements for a Banished Word or Phrase is that it has been used as a title for a Blogspot or Typepad blog. Yes, we've done this before. Consider it a tradition or a bad habit.

Super-Surge Me.

kirkaracha — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:25:53 -0800

Super-Surge Me. General David Petraeus is asking for another Army brigade in Iraq, in addition to the 21,500 mentioned in January and the 4,700 support troops added last week. [more inside]

Dead Sodas

luftmensch — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:04:23 -0800

Pepsi Blue, et al. Dead soda visited by X-Entertainment, purveyors of much 80s-90s nostalgia. Previously.

2 XTREEM 2 LIVE

Mayor Curley — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 05:30:14 -0800

Remember Surge? It was a Mountain Dew knockoff from the Super Wicked Radical days of the mid 90's. Reflecting the times, Surge was the color of radiator coolant and as thick as labrador drool. Inexplicably, it failed (except in Norway and also may have been the inspiration for this). The site is a magnificent document of true love for a dead product (and the opposite of Pepsi Blue on so many levels.)