Did Somebody Say "Surge?"

News from Iraq this morning...

The U.S. military, which just days ago completed its latest troop buildup in Iraq, has launched a large offensive operation in several al-Qaida strongholds around Baghdad, the top U.S. commander said Saturday.

Gen. David Petraeus said the operation began in the last 24 hours... [emphasis added]

Casts the timing of statements by certain congressional "leaders" this week in an interesting light, doesn't it?

Top US congressional Democrats bluntly told President George W. Bush Wednesday that his Iraq troop "surge" policy was a failure.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi challenged the president over Iraq by sending him a letter, ahead of a White House meeting later on Wednesday.

"As many had forseen, the escalation has failed to produce the intended results," the two leaders wrote. [emphasis added]

The words "pre-emptive strike" come to mind. I'm not going to type anymore, as I don't trust myself to be civil.

Update: The surge is already bearing fruit. Sounds like they're hot on the terrorists' trail.

Update II: The link in the first update used to go to an article headlined "Kidnapped Soldiers' IDs Found." It discussed in great detail what was found along with the IDs and the families' reactions. It's since been significantly rewritten (as of about 4:30 p.m., eastern).