Blood, Treasure, and Time

Abstract

This chapter places the surge decision in the context of the broader history of the Iraq War and offers a modestly positive appraisal. Indeed, the surge is only important in how it affected the overall project of the American war in Iraq. The significant question is whether the history of the surge offers lessons beyond itself, or at least whether the surge was decisive for achieving US objectives. The chapter then examines various dilemmas and challenges that the war occasioned—of relating strategy to both operations and politics; of promoting democratization in Iraq while also seeking some control over Iraqi decision making; and of seeking to exert presidential command over a complex decision-making process. It argues that the surge decision reflected a “delicate and skillful exercise in leadership” given civil-military tensions, but questions how well the surge answered the broader strategic questions surrounding American involvement.