Reply #7: It's pretty obvious what happened...

[Javaman]

The brass in the army were screaming how "successful" the surge was, when in reality, the insurgents where waiting to see what happened.

The insurgents are small and it's no mystery they can't fight the U.S.army on the U.S. army's terms, they must fight it on their own terms.

So they waited. did recon, gathered intel, figured out the army's plan, then exploited it to their own benefit. That's what we are seeing now.

When you have a small force being attacked by a large force, you have to use your small force very wisely.

So once again, we have played into their hands.

Military Intelligence; the ultimate oxymoron.