BEHIND THE SURGE SUCCESS

It seems that the Republicans are using the Surge success to validate the continued involvement in Iraq. And John McCain is banking on the Surge success to help him win the White House.

They never seem to mention one major factor why the SURGE appears to be working.

The numbers indicate that attacks are down in the last six months but there never seems to be any mention about the Muqtada al-Sadr's CEASE FIRE that has been in place for the last SIX MONTHS.

IF HE DOESN'T MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT EXTENDING THE CEASE FIRE THAN WE WILL TRULY SEE IF THE SURGE IS WORKING.

When the largest Shiite militant group takes a six month vacation then one could easily determine that the reduction in violence should be related to that action...unless one is a Republican trying to justify further action on the part of the United States military.

I sincerely hope that Muqtada speaks up and extends the cease fire...and it would be nice if he extended it for an entire year...but there have been some incidents that lead me to believe that he will not speak up and the vacation will end.

I would love to know where Muqtada al-Sadr stands regarding Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. That's a show for 60 Minutes. If we could know for certain that he regards all outsiders as intruders then we might be able to turn over some of the responsibility to his band of merry men.

Band of Merry Men might be stretching it.....but I'm fairly certain there are no women in the al-Sadr militia so the question is only based on how merry the men might be. They all seem so dammed pissed off that it might be hard to imagine them as men with families and houses and dogs and jobs and of course dreams for a better future.

The odds are good that some of them are normal human beings just trying to do the job that their esteemed leader has asked them to do.

QUITE SIMILAR TO ARMED FORCES THAT WORK FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH.

A very large difference is that Muqtada al-Sadr lives in the area and George has a ranch in Texas and a temporary house in Washington D.C.

I find it amazing that some Americans still think Iraq had something to do with 9/11.

Just like I find it hard to believe that we aren't able to up the ante in Afghanistan and find the guy who admits bombing the World Trade Center. I also continue to wonder about the Poppy cultivation that has increased dramatically since the Taliban were moved to the mountains...and why no one running for President of the United States ever brings up that fact.

But back to the Cease Fire. If al-Sadr does not speak up on Saturday then the Mahdi Army will be back at work and only then will we be able to determine if the SURGE had anything to do with a reduction in violence.

SURGE SUCCESS WITHOUT MUQTADA'S CEASE FIRE MIGHT BE AN IMPOSSIBILITY.

Let's see what happens Saturday.......and again I'm saying a prayer that he decides to extend the vacation for another six months....at least.

What would be really cool would be if
Maqtada al-Sadr announced
that he was converting to Judaism.

Hey...if we are dreaming....let's dream
LARGE

Michael Timothy McAlevey