Let's see how that 21.5K additional soldiers in Iraq really effect the numbers: The UK is withdrawing 3000 of the Brits in May. It is safe to say that the US will have 1K of dead and 3K of hurt (unable to fight) soldiers by the end of the year. That is 7K less soldiers plus 21.5K equals 14.5K real addition. That is about 10% of the fighting force on the ground. Just to keep it real...
It won't have an effect on the outcome in Iraq. We can sweep al-Anbar and Baghdad all we want. The insurgents will just blend in with the local population and bide their time until the American and Iraqi soldiers leave for another province/city. Then they will bear arms again, plant suicide bombs, and wait until the American and Iraqi forces move in again, where they will blend in with the local population until we move out again. LOL. You can quote me on that paragraph. Think about the situation. The insurgents, by estimates of Rumsfeld and Co., were between 30000 to 50000 in number. Compare that to the American military, in the 120000 to 150000 range. Using sniper rifles, suicide bombs, and IEDs, the insurgents are tying down the most technologically-advanced and well-trained fighting force in history. Even with our navy, air force, marines, ground troops, armored vehicles, tanks, etc..., none of that is working against these insurgents. If the insurgents are patient, they'll eventually win.
