Success of U.S. "surge" in Iraq could end

ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:

There are signs that the truce that has reduced the number of American soldiers killed in Iraq is unraveling.

Follow this link to the original source: "Clashes in Iraq’s No. 2 City May Trigger Violence Elsewhere"

COMMENTARY:

According to Alex Kingsbury writing for U.S. News and World Report: "the escalating unrest in southern Iraq, particularly new clashes this week between rival Shiite factions in the key southern port city of Basra, threaten to spark wider confrontations that could set back security progress in Baghdad.”
An end to the truce in Iraq would likely signal the end of the success of the so-called U.S. "surge" where more U.S. troops were brought into Iraq to defeat the insurgents.

Militia factions in Iraq have been largely observing a cease-fire since August, which has been a major contributor to the decline in American deaths in the country. That cease-fire was extended in February for six months, to the relief of American commanders in Baghdad, according to Kingsbury.

However, this cease fire could end at any time as violence escalates. One reason the cease fire is so tenuous is because it is held together by U.S. cash.

Alex Kingsbury said in an interview March 20, 2008 with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show that he spent a day with a U.S. soldier whose job was to pass out cash to former insurgents and Al Qaeda. The soldier carried a backpack full of money from which he paid militia members who stood guard at check points. If someone died, the U.S. soldier would go to the family and pay them off.

A peace held together by payoffs can’t last for long. When it ends, the U.S. again will be caught in the crossfire of warring factions and troop casualties will rise.