How to write about the Surge

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200708/POL20070809c.html

We have been accused of being whingers- a terrible slur against all us dedicated writers at 'The House of War'. If you want to hear whingeing, read this article.

Whinge 1:
'Lt. Col. Gian Gentile, with the U.S. Military Academy, noted that his parameters for measuring success in Iraq last year were flawed, in retrospect. He looked at (1) enemy kills; (2) protecting his troops; and (3) minimizing the number of Iraqi civilians killed by enemy forces. Gen. David Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy pursues those goals in opposite order, Gentile said.'

Whinge 2:
Ivan Eland, a senior fellow with the libertarian Independent Institute, told Cybercast News Service that insurgencies defy efforts to measure success.

Whinge 3:
"The enemies only have to wait for the powerful democracy to become war-weary and go home," Eland said.

Whinge 4:
Frederick Kagan, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, is regarded as one of the architects of the administration's new strategy. He claims that other measurements of success Iraq - the political "benchmarks" set by Congress in the Defense supplemental appropriations bill passed this spring - were ineffective.

Whinge 5:
"And so the question is, at the same time as you have people demanding that we change our military strategy from month to month, they're insisting that we continue to pursue the same political strategy all through without any changes and any accounting for variations in the situation in Iraq. It doesn't make sense."

Whinge 6:
But Ivan Eland told Cybercast News Service that even if all of the political benchmarks mandated by Congress are met, "they are still on paper." The fractured Iraqi society will prevent them from ever being implemented, he said."If the administration is smart, they would say that the Iraqis didn't meet them...and use it as an excuse to withdraw."

Whinge 7:
The troop surge -- introducing another 20,000-30,000 troops -- "doesn't even begin to close the gap [in what is needed]," said Preble. "By concentrating forces in one key city, this gives an opportunity for insurgents to move their operations elsewhere, as we are seeing in Basra, for example. In short, I fear that this is a case of too little, too late. But the same can be said of Bush administration policy since the very beginning."

Conclusion:
Next month, Gen. David Petraeus, the top general in Iraq, will report to Congress on the U.S. military progress in Iraq. Even before he presents his conclusions, many Democrats are demanding a troop withdrawal.

This is how modern journalism works: First of all, write your conclusion, based on your absolute belief in your own opinions. Second, cadge all the quotes you can from friends or enemies to support your conclusion. Third, write a headline that makes people think you actually put genuine thought and effort into your piece. Voila! You and your Democrap editor can put your feet up and wait for WASP America to die in the bubbling cauldron of its own contradictions. Hurrah!

By the way, a brief perusal of the military and counter-terrorism websites reveals the unfortunate fact that the surge is, in fact, working. Never mind, Evan, better luck next war.