Crunching the 'Surge' Numbers

While the increased number of troops being bandied about just prior to Bush's speech on Wednesday is 21,500, the actual result of what appears to be a significant increase is quite different:

White House officials said an extra 17,500 Army soldiers would be sent to Baghdad and the Marines would have an extra 4,000 troops in western Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni Arab insurgency. Some will be placed inside Iraqi army units to accelerate their training. Others will support Iraqi army units that will be expected to do the bulk of the street patrols and other missions to quell Baghdad's sectarian violence.

The increase is to be achieved over a period of months. At its height, the troop total — now at about 132,000 — apparently would reach about 153,500, although the Pentagon did not release a timeline for the increases.

That is not appreciably higher than just two months ago when it stood at 152,000. And it is a little less than the 160,000 level of one year ago, in the immediate aftermath of Iraqi elections.

Surge? What surge?

surge

noun
1. a sudden forceful flow [syn: rush]
2. a sudden or abrupt strong increase; "stimulated a surge of speculation"; "an upsurge of emotion"; "an upsurge in violent

dictionary.com

Related: A Stagger, More than a Surge
100,000 mercenaries, the forgotten "Surge"