• Background: A policy of the Bush administration in 2007 to increase 15 battalions to 20
• Debate: Troops are cause of continuing violence v. The surge may help
• Recent Developments: General Petraeus' report shows progress

Background

• In a nationally televised address, President Bush announced plans to send more than 20,000 troops to support the existing allied and Iraqi forces. The troop surge is concentrated in Baghdad and the western province of Anbar, which are the most violent parts of the country. By June 15th, 2007, the surge was completed with the 160,000 additional American troops.
• The surge involves "embedded" American forces within Iraqi units to assist in suppressing insurgent activity in the two regions. This effort would be supported by other measures aimed at addressing reconstruction and political progress.
• After expending over 3,000 troops and over US$300 billion, American voters saw the 2006 midterm elections as an opportunity to voice their discontent over the progress in Iraq and the Republican's leadership on the issue. The elections yielded strong victories for Democrats in both chambers of congress and sent clear message that voters expected change for the policy in Iraq.
• The top US general in Iraq, David Petraeus, has argued that a troop surge in these regions is the only conceivable option for stabilizing the country. Critics of the new strategy argue that the surge has only provided insurgents with more targets. Others argue that too few troops were deployed to make a difference.

Debate

• Opponents of the surge have made the argument the US should not spend extra money and lives fighting a civil war. It should retreat immediately. The troop presence is the cause of the violence in Iraq.
• Others think that the situation in Iraq is stagnate because the previous troop levels were too few. The extra forces may help. It is a strategy that should be pursued before the military retreats the situation becomes even worse.

Recent Developments

• An interim report showed parts of Iraq are safer for American troops and less violent in general. However, the Iraqi government made marginal progress towards meeting the political benchmarks set by the US Congress.
• General Petraeus delivered a report on the surge's progress in mid-September 2007. He reported the US military objectives are being met. The number of Iraqi civilians dying in attacks each month has decreased by 45% since December, when sectarian killing reached an all-time high. In Baghdad, where most of the extra troops were sent, it has fallen by 70%.