As readers of the corporate/state media will NOT be aware: the surge has now officially failed. The problem is that the surge had three basic elements: to 'flood' Iraq with American soldiers (and at the same time to bomb and bomb and bomb in an attempt to break the spirit of the resistance), to buy off Sunni insurgents (via the so-called 'Awakening Councils') and to put political pressure on the governing Shia government to bring the Sunnis into the political process.

All three of these elements have now failed, or are in the process of failing. The 'surge' of American soldiers was unsustainable: the 'excess' American soldiers are now going home. The Iraqi parliament remains as deadlocked as ever. And the Awakening Councils are now in the process of disintegrating.

'American-backed Sunni militias who have fought Sunni extremists to a standstill in some of Iraq's bloodiest battlegrounds are being hit with a wave of assassinations and bomb attacks, threatening a fragile linchpin of the military's strategy to pacify the nation.... At least 100 predominantly Sunni militiamen, known as Awakening Council members or Concerned Local Citizens, have been killed in the past month, mostly around Baghdad and the provincial capital of Baquba, urban areas with mixed Sunni and Shiite populations, according to Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani. At least six of the victims were senior Awakening leaders, Iraqi officials said.

Violence is also shaking up the Awakening movement, many of whose members are former insurgents, in its birthplace in the Sunni heartland of Anbar Province...the ... onslaught is jeopardizing that relative security and raising the prospect that the groups' members might disperse, with many rejoining the insurgency, American officials said.

An Iraqi intelligence official said, "Our battle in Iraq has become an intelligence battle." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the nature of his job, added, "Half of the Awakening movement is infiltrated by Al Qaeda." He warned that if Awakening groups were provoked into retaliatory attacks against government-linked Shiite militias, the results could be catastrophic.'

Meanwhile, Pakistan now faces the prospect of a fully fledged Islamicist take over.

'WASHINGTON, Jan 23: A top US general warned on Wednesday that the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants have postponed their spring offensive in Afghanistan as they want to focus on their efforts to destabilise the Pakistani government.

Major-General David Rodriguez, who commands US forces in eastern Afghanistan, said the militants' change of plan could already be seen in the areas bordering Pakistan where Taliban infiltrations have reduced significantly....The militants, he warned, saw new opportunities to accelerate instability inside Pakistan.'

Meanwhile the American puppet state of Egypt has used the recent influx of Palestinians as an excuse to crack down on dissidents.  Despite this anti-democratic crackdown, which must have pleased Bush (whose own contempt for democracy is well known), Bush has also made it clear that he is unhappy with the behaviour of his 'ally' Mubarak. Bush's only concern in the waning years of his disastrous presidency are to bring Iran and Syria under his Imperial control either via invading and colonising them or (as seems more likely) economic/military pressure to weaken them in order to prepare the way for an invasion in 10 or 15 years time (this was precisely what happened to Iraq, of course).

What was most significant about Bush's latest tour round his Empire was that:

"The brief nature of the visit reflected an undercurrent of tension between the two governments (i.e. Egypt and the US)" Ahmed Thabet, head of the political science department at Cairo University, told IPS.

While in the region, Bush met with the leaders of several countries closely associated with Washington (a euphemism for colonies: Hidari), including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. He also visited Ramallah in the West Bank where he held talks with the leadership of the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority (another euphemism: Hidari)....

According to Thabet, Bush's overriding objective in the Middle East was not to promote peace but to rally Arab allies against the alleged threat to the region posed by Iran.

"The goal of the visit was to encourage countries of the region to unite against Iran," he said. "Bush keeps trying to convince Arab capitals that Iran -- not Israel -- represents the chief danger in the region."

Thabet went on to say that Bush's brief stopover in Sharm al-Sheikh was a reflection of Cairo's waning importance to Washington.

"The trip's duration was in proportion to Egypt's diminished profile," said Thabet. "For Washington, Egypt's role is now confined to policing the border with the Gaza Strip and preventing weapons being smuggled to the Palestinian resistance against Israel."

"With such a limited role," Thabet added, "Washington sees little urgency in talking to Cairo about other issues."

Local commentators were also quick to note that during his visit, Bush -- in a marked reversal -- failed to broach the subject of domestic political reform in Egypt.