Still Unsure About the Surge Strategy

While politicians such as Joe Biden and John Murtha struggle to figure out whether the surge strategy is working, life goes on in Iraq. Biden just called the surge "a fantasy," and Murtha just admitted that it's working.

So now we are faced with a situation. What's the next step? Report news? Of course not! It is time to say improvements are too slow, and they exploit the Iraqi people.

WaPo reporters know what to do:

"As violence continues to dip across Iraq, U.S. officials say they will increasingly shift their barometers of success from security to basic services -- electricity, gasoline, water and sanitation -- that reflect whether life for Iraqis is returning to normal."

Okay, as a result of the "dip," the government can "reopen gas stations across the city. At those stations, where drivers last year sometimes waited for days to fill up, waits are now usually less than 15 minutes, decreasing the demand for black-market gas. "

That's not good enough. And the electricity? "Maysan province in the southeast received the least, 11.6 hours, while Anbar province in the west received the most, 23.3 hours. Baghdad was on the lower end, with about 11.9 hours per day. State Department figures from six months ago showed the city receiving an average of 5.1 hours a day. "

Wait! What did you say about Anbar? 23.3 hours of electricity a day? More than anyone else in Iraq? Certainly more electricity than Anbar had under al-Qaeda in Iraq's rule. No, things are still bad. They should have been fixed overnight all over Iraq, according to WaPo.

The reporters quote a man who says: "It was definitely so much better for us before the war," he said. "We were never suffering the way we are now." I'm glad he had a steady flow of electricity under the Baathists. Wish I could say my family had the same.

And then there are the refugees. Iraq's government is "exploiting" the refugees and is unprepared to deal with their return. A UN official warns "that it is too early to promote returns as the security situation in the country remains volatile."

"The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that 'around 600 Iraqis have left Syria each day this week, although not all are refugees.' Officials in Iraq and Syria have said more than 46,000 refugees returned in October and the flow has continued this month."

That's good, right? No, the AP tells us: "About 20 buses carrying hundreds of Iraqi refugees arrived in Baghdad from Syria late Wednesday, the first results of a government-funded effort aimed at exploiting growing the public confidence."

Got that? The Iraqi government, by paying for the bus and giving families money to restart their lives, is exploiting the Iraqi people. We all know Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki is terrible in general, but we ought to give him credit when he does something good. The AP should tell us how they would have covered the story had the refugees paid for their own trip home to start their lives with no money.