You said the reason behind it was to provide enough security breathing room for the Maliki (Shiite) governemnt to make some political concessions to the Sunnis...
That ain't happenin'....
Quite the opposite...
All that the surge has done is turn the US into Sunni backers... Hey, ain't these the folks who used to be the enemy???
Yeah, the US has become a partner with the Sunni's (our former enemy) to stand up to the Maliki Shiites (our former friends) and for exactly what???
I don't have a clue....
All I know is that it ain't workin'... The same civil war awaits our departure regardless who we say are our friends are today...
I used to think that invading Iraq was just plain stupid... I have now had to revise my assessments downward....