The Surge Is Working. Or Is It?

Two women reporters in Iraq, working for one of the most credible news organizations in the U.S., are just out with this:

Is 'success' of U.S. surge in Iraq about to unravel?
By Leila Fadel and Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD — A cease-fire critical to the improved security situation in Iraq appeared to unravel Monday when a militia loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al Sadr began shutting down neighborhoods in west Baghdad and issuing demands of the central government.

Simultaneously, in the strategic southern port city of Basra, where Sadr's Mahdi militia is in control, the Iraqi government launched a crackdown in the face of warnings by Sadr's followers that they'll fight government forces if any Sadrists are detained. By 1 a.m. Arab satellite news channels reported clashes between the Mahdi Army and police in Basra.

To be fair, AP covered this pretty well, too, tied it to the possibility of escalating violence, but not the surge issue itself, which it definitely is.
I now know more than I knew before about Iraq politics. But I wish I didn't.