Murtha: "I think the surge is working."

Speaking via teleconference to reporters in four different cities, Murtha did acknowledge that the surge, which he had firmly criticized, has led to military successes. But he also warned repeatedly that the Iraqis were not doing enough to capitalize on those gains.

"I think the surge is working but that's only one element. It's working because of the increase in troops," he said, "but the thing that has to happen is that the Iraqis have to do this themselves..."

(The caveat was all but ignored by some conservative critics, one of whom described Murtha's claim as the equivalent of "hell freezing over.")

Since expressing skepticism over the war in November 2005, Murtha has consistently applauded the capabilities of the troops but also emphasized that, in the absence of political progress among the Iraqi government, their work would be for naught. When President Bush rolled out his surge proposal in the winter of 2007, he opposed the idea, according to the Wall Street Journal, because "it meant depleting readiness at home or extending the tours of troops [currently] in the war zone."

Here is the whole article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/30/what-murtha-really-said-a_n_747...

an ardent critic of this war, but it is fair to point out U.S. troop deaths have dropped pretty significantly in the last three months or so. Whether this means the 'surge is working' or not can be debated. But, no matter the reason, less troops are dying on average than before, we should all be thankful for that.

If we look at the ongoing war in Afghanistan there is also a lull.

Occurs right around the changing of seasons.

Can we believe that with so many insurgents rebels in the region they have laid down their arms for good or just a pause in the action.

Time will tell.

The Russians battled for 10 years in Afghanistan with the same lulls and spikes.

http://toledoohioneighborhoodconcerns.com/blog