The Surge

Isn't saying that the "Surge" is a success a bit like saying you got an A on a test that you were allowed to take over and over again?  Isn't the "Surge" what General Shinseki suggested we do in the first place, a.k.a. send in a large number of troops to pacify a fractious nation whose fissures were going to be ripped asunder by our invasion?  Thousands of U.S. soldiers lives lost, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, billions of dollars spent, all because of the arrogance of a few with little or no military training who thought they knew better than our military professionals.  The surge isn't a success because it's what should have been done in the first place.  It's nothing more than a do over writ in blood.  I'm glad it's working, but it is fatuous and deceptive to claim success after a carnage that could have been avoided by using the strategy that is the basis of the "success" in the first place.