Taking the Fight to Our Enemies II: Responding on the “Success” of the Surge

SUMMARY

The surge in Iraq has become a political football, with John McCain and his allies accusing those who opposed the surge of a failure of vision. We conclude that the real question is not if the surge “worked,” but rather if devoting extraordinary resources to Iraq while ignoring the rising dangers in Afghanistan and the deepening strain on the Army was a smart strategy. We argue that the answer clearly is no.

Progressives should not shy away from a vigorous debate about either past or future policy decisions in Iraq or Afghanistan. In this memo, we suggest that progressives should discuss the surge in the broader context of American national security, rather than simply levels of violence in Iraq. We argue that the Bush-McCain decision to double down in Iraq has dangerously overextended our military and made us less able to respond to the growing threats in Afghanistan. By making these arguments, progressives can place the debate about the surge in its proper frame.

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