Strategery

Two problems evident with The Surge before it even begins are implicit in this AP wire report from Baghad. First, just because you're planning on having more troops soon doesn't remove the need to have some security in Baghad now --

"It is a tragedy. The terrorists want to punish the Iraqi people. There was no police or American presence in this market yesterday," said Adnan Lafta, a 51-year-old seller of gas cylinders.

The bombing came just days before American and Iraqi forces were expected to start an all-out assault on Sunni and Shiite gunmen and bombers in the capital.

Second, if you announce that your stepped-up enforcement will be concentrated in Baghdad and al-Anbar, this shouldn't be a surprise --

An Iraqi militant group tied to al-Qaida in Iraq announced Saturday it had launched its own new strategy to counter the coming U.S.-Iraqi crackdown.

In an audiotape posted on a Web site commonly used by the insurgents, a voice purported to be that of Abu Abdullah Rashid al-Baghdadi, also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, said the group would "widen the circle of battles" beyond Baghdad to all of Iraq. Al-Baghdadi heads The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of insurgent groups in Iraq.

This is all in addition to evidence that the preparation for The Surge has itself become a source of terrorism.

UPDATE: Monday's New York Times goes into more detail on the catastrophic consequences of partial surge -- enough to remmove the Mahdi army from the streets but not enough to replace the security they provided.