OK, please let’s retire the endless invocation of the word "surge" to describe absolutely everything that’s going on in Iraq. It’s getting really obnoxious. Yes, yes, we get it — the surge is teh awesomez0rs, resulting in all good things, and thanks to the surge the streets of Baghdad are paved with Fruit Roll-Ups. Look, I play in a band called The Surge, so I’m saying this against my own interest. Take a look at this latest DOD press release:

General Credits Success in Iraq to Various Surges

Yeesh, that’s just the headline. Grit your teeth and read on:

“Government, security and economic institutions continue to surge forward” throughout Iraq even as the last of the initial five surge brigades – 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team – redeployed this week, [Brig. Den. David] Perkins said.

Military officials credit the past year’s five-brigade troop surge as the foundation for the country’s recent progress, the general said, but that wasn’t the only surge that took place.

“The coalition surge was one of many surges that have come to produce programs and progress across Iraq,” Perkins said. “The coalition surge has been accompanied by a surge in Iraqi security forces, a surge of support by the Iraqi people, a surge in political and governance progress and a surge in the revitalization of the economic sector.”

I’m about to have a surge of regurgitated food. Enough.