The Other Surge

"Nevermind that Iraqis are doing most of the dying and sustaining most of the damage to their economy; the "blame-the-Iraqis" crowd--y'know, the ones who keep saying "the Iraqis should be doing more of this and more of that"--need to keep these numbers in mind (Arabic):Total number of military personnel: 250,000 (in 14 Divisions)Total number of police: 450,000Increase in weekly operations by Iraqi security forces since the Maliki government took over: 1000 percentIncrease in number of patrols: 270 percentIncrease in security spending in the 2008 budget: 26 percentAnd everyday, these soldiers and policemen are getting better equipped, better trained and more and more capable of taking on a diminishing security threat. Iraq has 51 billion dollars to burn through for 2008; this is the largest budget in Iraq's history, calculated at 53 dollars a barrel (...it's now at over a 100 dollars a barrel). All the political actors seem to have mellowed out and are seeking political bargains left, right and center across confessional divides. Big oil companies are starting to jump in and be part of the action, investing tens of billions more. Arts are blossoming, the media scene is vibrant, the legal system is working.All this and yet some folks want you to believe that it could all blow-up at any day now: the Sunnis are re-arming, the Sadrists are fuming, Turkey is going to occupy Kirkuk, a bomb went off in Talafar, etc. They will keep telling you that the sky is about to fall until November, and beyond.But it won't."

Talisman Gate