Check (but what's the point)

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article;jsessionid=E6E5E9B1A6296713E7525240559711EE.w5?a=147503&f=20

One of the most annoying things in chess is when an opponent with their back against the wall starts checking you incessantly and pointlessly solely to stave off the innevitable defeat. More than a few players lose their cool, do something stupid, and let the other person back in the game. But 95% of the time it is just a signal they have thrown in the towel and are just stalling.

That is sort of how I feel about the surge, Awakening councils (could something with such a stupid name ever work), the benchmarks, the baghdad separation wall, etc. Gimmicks that force the participants in the Iraq civil war to step back for a few months, regroup, then keep moving towards check mate. So long as we are a player in the game things won't get better.