The "Surge" is working or is Iraq on the verge of collapse?

it depends who`s side of the fence your looking from

77 U.S. troops were killed in July, a striking drop from earlier this year 104 in April, 126 in May and 101 in June.

Still, July's U.S. death toll is almost twice as high as for the same period last year -- 43 fatalities -- The numbers come from a CNN count of Pentagon figures.

There's also concern about the Iraqi death toll, which rose in July. At least 1,653 civilians were killed in July. The number had dipped to 1,227 last month.

Oxfam and the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Coordination Committee in Iraq have issued a briefing paper that says violence in Iraq is masking a humanitarian crisis that has worsened since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The paper, called "Rising to the Humanitarian Challenge in Iraq," is the latest documentation of the misery faced by Iraqis.

About eight million Iraqis -- nearly a third of the population -- are without water, sanitation, food and shelter and need emergency aid,

about 43 percent of Iraq's population endure "absolute poverty," and that more than half "are now without work."

Child malnutrition rates have jumped from 19 percent before the invasion four years ago to 28 percent now, and there are two million internally displaced people, many of whom have no or little access to food rations. is this is Bush`s idea of success ?

We know where you stand but here I go.

The war isn't getting better but it sin't getting worse either. Is this the only time you've heard something bad about Iraq. Think about it. Here's some of the good news. Attacks are down since the beginning of June. The month of July saw the fewest US casualties in the last year and Baghdad is the most secure it has ever been.

Yes things are bad all over Iraq and yes the government is struggling. But it isn't lost. What if Bush said we had lost and we just left. What would happen? Think about that before you answer this question.

The guy had good expectations and in the beginning most everybody had agreed with his ideology, but he had not understood the animals that would be against a free and democratic Iraq or, the cry babies on the left that will throw in the towel half way, or the leftist media that only reported on the very worst and not any of the accomplishments turning the masses against him early in this fight, undermining any successes, just how they did in Vietnam.

There is a "contained" (by US military) civil war going on right now in Iraq and nothing the US can do especially with a measly 20-30,000 extra force (There were at it's peak over 560,000 US troops in Vietnam and they could not contain or stop what was always a CIVIL WAR there) will or can stop their Civil War for it is fueled by centuries of animosities and inter tribal friction exacerbated by the Saddam rule.

The Iraqi Civil War is as stoppable as the American Revolution and the American Civil War !!!!.

In a recent Pew (I believe) poll,over 60 % of Iraqis say it is OK to kill a US soldier.

How on earth can Americans be so monumentally stupid as to be sucked into believing that the surge is working especially after 5 years of filthy friggin lies out of the sewer mouth of Bush and all the destruction Bush has caused Americans from over 3500 soldiers dying NOT for liberty,democracy ,freedom but for OIL OIL OIL PROFITS PROFITS PROFITS to over 400,000 innocent Iraqi civilians .

AMERICANS DESERVE EXACTLY WHAT THEY GET BECAUSE OF their RE-ELECTED BUSH but the rest of the world including those 400,000 innocent slaughtered Iraqi civilians did not deserve what that good little Christian Americans did to them.

The surge is working - our military has clearly done it's job. It's the Iraqi government that is failing. Instead of Patreus reporting to the Senate - it should be the other way around. This is clearly an administrative error - not a military failure.

The USA has spend trillions of dollars trying to rebuild a country that doesn't want us there but yet the people are hungry no water or electricity.Where is all that money going or in who's pocket.

Well, the surge has achieved some strategic success. But violence is still rampant, the infrastructure is in shambles and the political situation is no better.

Depends on one's definition of "success," I suppose our standards are considerably low at this point.

The Iraq people are failing big time....they like to play games with the SURGE makers...they seek another dictator...ITS OVER,,,,send out the clowns.....but the surge did work....let that stand...freepress

If you think you can do better why don't you go over there and do the right thing. i don't know where you get your information but link opinions don't mean a thing to me unless it documented.

It depends on who you talk to