Symbolism in the Senate.(AT WAR)(American troops in Iraq)

BUSH's proposed "surge" of troops into Iraq landed with a thud in Washington. Democrats were quick to denounce him for not truly "changing course," which it turns out--to no one's surprise--they had always been using as a euphemism for leaving Iraq. Republicans dismayed by the lack of progress in Iraq demurred or voiced their opposition, especially Republican senators facing tough reelection battles next year. Only about a half a dozen Republicans were vocal in support of the Bush plan, led as always by Arizona senator John McCain, whose steadfast advocacy of victory in Iraq has been honorable and courageous.

There are legitimate reasons to be skeptical that the surge will succeed. Five new American brigades might not be enough to secure Baghdad. The Maliki government might not follow through on its commitments (although it is showing signs of beginning to crack down on Moqtada al-Sadr). The furies of sectarian hatred might have already spun so far out of control that the civil war isn't containable. But there is a chance that more troops, assigned to securing the population of Baghdad in a way they haven't been before, will tip the city away from its slide toward chaos.

Every other option, short of admitting defeat and leaving, is a fantasy. Iran and Syria are not going to help us in Iraq in response to some diplomatic outreach, and even if they wanted to help, they are merely contributors to the violence there, not its primary causes. Better political performance by Maliki's government will not stop the violence either. An oil law that broadly shares revenues might please Sunnis (and be desirable in its own right), but it won't significantly dampen the insurgency. That requires a force of arms that Maliki cannot yet muster. Finally, we can't simultaneously withdraw to places like Kurdistan and still fight al-Qaeda within Iraq, as some pundits wishfully suggest. Al-Qaeda is waging an insurgency within Iraq, and defeating it requires gathering fine-grained intelligence and undertaking intensive ...