The first time I read the word "surge", I knew a) the media was going to parrot it so often that it would become part of our euphemistic national lexicon and b) that Bush was stoopit enough to do it.
Two problems:
a) We going to take a 'lesser' role, in support of Iraqi troops...all one combat ready battalion of them. Right.
b) We're going to 'loosen' the rules of engagement for US forces (contradicting 'a'). Every time we've tried this the violence escalates out of control.
I'm reminded of LBJ, who, when gifted with a war he already know was shitty and could probably not be won, chose to do the only thing that would save face in the short term: escalate.
Prolonging the misery is an excellent strategy, and one that this administration has proven very adept at executing.