At 7th Anniversary of 'Photo Op': Mission Still NOT Accomplished

The only reason the Iraqi surge 'succeeded' was that we had already caused a religious civil war between Shia and Sunni, which had already killed or removed members of the opposing sect in a given area. The surge, in and of itself, only mopped up the dregs of what was left after Shia and Sunni had ethnically 'cleansed' each other.



It also explains why the current 'surge' in Afghanistan will not work. There are Afghan Taliban, Al Qaeda (virtually non-existent, to be sure) Pashtun, urban Afghans (where 'government' holds sway) and the remainder of the population, over which the goverment has no control. There has been no 'cleansing' or similar dilution as there was in Iraq, so that the problem is far worse. And, beyond that, there are the influences oo Pakistani Pashtun and Taliban, as well as the complicating influences of the ISI and Pakistani government.
About Afghanistan
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost