American Enterprise Institute’s Fred Kagan is generally acknowledged as the screenwriter of Iraq II - The Surge, which began its run in February of this year. Widely panned by critics, Surge was hailed by its architects and supporters as the perfect sequel to an imperfect original script. In fact, the cheerleaders for this followup Bush - Cheney production just couldn’t get past the testosterone-dripping chest puffing and bluster, and promised to provide some boffo boxoffice results this week.

Unfortunately, a few days in advance of the official boxoffice numbers, Variety the Associated Press reports that none - zero, zip, nada - of the pre-release benchmarks or targets for Surge have been met. We can note, however, one indicator of the sequel’s success (or more appropriately, lack thereof): the deaths of 520 American extras since Surge began its ill-fated run.

Speaking in Washington yesterday before an industry-sponsored trade group meeting, Surge screenwriter Kagan said:

The worst that can be said … at this point is that the results have been mixed.

Despite the apparent failure of Surge, industry tongues are already wagging that Iraq III - Last Helo Out will begin production later this year. Speculation is running rampant that series director George W. Bush may be replaced, or given a significantly diminished role in the production of what is already being termed, “a very bloody finale”.

Update: Siun at The Agonist has a particularly disturbing review of Surge, and a preview of the likely production values of Last Helo Out.