Bush Cites Progress in Iraq Despite Mounting Death Toll

[Rose Siding]

With the number of American military deaths in Iraq surpassing 1,000, President Bush said Wednesday "we mourn every loss of life" and declared that the United States was making good progress in the war against terrorism.

"We're still at war," Bush said during a meeting with congressional leaders. "We've got to do everything we can to protect the homeland."
...
"Ultimately we will prevail because liberty changes countries, liberty changes the habits of people, liberty promotes peace. And that's why we appreciate the sacrifice of the men and women who wear the uniform," Bush said. "They're serving a great cause.

"We mourn every loss of life," he said. "We will honor their memories by completing the mission."

Bush refused to answer questions from reporters. He simply stared at a reporter who asked if he agreed with Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that if Democrat John Kerry is elected, "the danger is that we'll get hit again" by terrorists.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4955-2004Sep8.html?nav=rss_politics

[cthrumatrix]

1. it's sad that we have the media protecting his lies that cost US lives

the media has blood on thier hands !

[dqueue]

17. progress?

I love how we're making progress; yet, DoD admitted yesterday that many areas of Iraq are under the control of rebel forces.

If you repeat a lie enough times, it will be perceived as truth. Can't the shrub take his active duty punishment for desertion NOW?

[Drifter]

2. I'm not sure Iraq ...

or America can survive anymore of this so called "Progress".

Cheers
Drifter

[truthisfreedom]

3. i wonder what he was thinking. or is that, if he was thinking. or is

that, if he can think at this point.

[johnfunk]

4. Yessir, progress toward 2000 dead! Mission demolished!

Gotta love that catastrophic success...

[Old and In the Way]

11. " Mission Demolished"

Perfect sound bite for the Kerry campaign.

[Beetwasher]

5. Nothing Illustrates "Out Of Touch" More than this Kind of Stupid Orwellian

Bullshit. Keep it up dumbass!

[TahitiNut]

18. He seems incapable of distinguishing between Imperial and Empirical

He proclaims progress without offering any reasonable, balanced, empirical basis upon which such an assessment might be made in anything but a partisan fashion. Everything is authoritarian and bossism to this numbnutted f*ck.

[leftchick]

24. He does that with EVERYTHING....

He claims the economy is strong, our country and the world are safer, We are winning the war on terra, etc. on a daily basis. No one in the media questions the little boy king*. It is maddening!

[PATRICK]

6. Democracy is just around the corner

n/t

[Maeve]

7. 25 in 8 days and he says "progress"

Yeah, were back up to over 3 a day

[amber dog democrat]

8. We are barely in control

as Iraq slides towards civil war and US forces have a mounting death toll.

But , hey if the Chimp says its progress, who are we to differ?

My question is what are we progressing towards?

[grytpype]

22. Actually, we are not in control at all.

Outside of the Green Zone, there are regions we pretend to control, and other regions we can't pretend to control, like the entire west of the country.

[Jacobin]

26. Large parts of most of the cities have been retaken by Iraqis

We are losing big time. Actually, we lost when we decided to try to conquer and occupy Iraq.

Not gonna happen.

[amber dog democrat]

30. All they have to do is bleed us white.

If the chimp is re elected or if the election is again stolen, does anyone honestly think we can last a full 4 years attempting to wrest control of Iraq from the Iraqis?

I don't see it happening. We never really won this invasion but when will the White House admit it ?

[Gregorian]

9. Yeah, the illegal occupation is going well.

The bank robbery is going as planned.
It's going well if you are getting paid for it. It's not so good if you are one of those who would actually prefer that we weren't there.

[UpInArms]

10. Bush wants to shift $3.3 billion to strengthen Iraq security

Bush wants to shift $3.3 billion to strengthen Iraq security
Funds would be diverted from rebuilding projects

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/09/06/MNGCO8KHRK1.DTL

Washington -- The Bush administration is preparing to seek congressional approval to divert $3.3 billion earmarked to rebuild Iraq's shattered infrastructure into programs focused mainly to establish law and order.

The move comes against a backdrop of steadily deteriorating public security in the country as it approaches a crucial first round of elections set for January.

Those working on the changes said the proposed reallocation amounts to nearly one-fifth of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last November to rebuild Iraq. They said the shift would delay vital electricity, water and sewage projects -- all crucial to restoring Iraq's economy and building public support for the country's struggling interim government.

Instead, the money would go to an array of other programs, including $1.8 billion to strengthen the government's shaky security organizations and additional funds to soak up unemployment. In a country where idle men with little hope for work make easy recruits for a virulent insurgency, job creation is closely linked to improved security.

...more...

Yeah, right - lots of "progress" - death and destruction everywhere

[Rose Siding]

14. Ideology trumps fact again

[fertilizeonarbusto]

12. If this is progress

I hate to see things when they are in the shitcan.

[Go Eagles]

13. What progress?

And how does he measure this progress? By the fact that violence, instability, terrorism and the death toll in Iraq is mounting? By the fact that are numerous no-go zones for the US occupation forces and the Iraqi forces in cities such as Fallujah, Baghdad, Kerbula and Najf to name a handful? Is it that the provisional government of Iraq has proven to be impotent in resolving any type of tension or maintaining order or stability? Or is that a significant portion of Sunni triangle has their own radical, Islamic fundamentalist, Talibanesque government thriving, which is beyond the authority of either the occupation or interim government. Or is it by the fact that incidences and death tolls from terrorism around the world are dramatically increasing? Or is the fact that Al Qaeda has evolved and it's leadership and recruitment have increased? Is this the progress he is talking about?

[UpInArms]

19. memory time: Bush: Iraq attacks signs of desperation

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-10-27-iraq-meeting_x.htm

Posted 10/27/2003 9:18 AM

Bush spoke only hours after bombings in postwar Baghdad killed dozens of people and after conferring at the White House with the top U.S. general and civilian official in Iraq. (Related audio: Bush: "Terrorists are determined, but coalition forces are stronger.")

"The more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity that's available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become," Bush told reporters.

Defense officials said loyalists of fallen Iraq leader Saddam Hussein likely were responsible for bombings Monday at three police stations and offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Sunday at a hotel filled with occupation officials.

The two days of violence represented a significant spike in violence — a surge of attacks that showed some level of coordination, defense officials said.

<snip>

Echoing Bush's theme, Odierno said the reason for the attacks is insurgents "want to get as much attention as they can and they're becoming more and more desperate each day."

<snip>

Last week, the White House threatened to veto the overall $87 billion aid package for Iraq and Afghanistan if any of the Iraqi reconstruction money was structured as a loan. (hmmm - wonder if the Kerry team remembers that particular piece of flip flopping?

...more at link...

[PurityOfEssence]

15. Hey, only 2,446 dead in the Spanish-American War

and that includes all the mess in the Philippines through 1902.

We're closing in. Big progress. Sis-boom-bah, cheerleader moron.

[llmart]

16. He refused to answer questions from reporters.....

and simply stared at a reporter. I'm telling you, how any of the American public can vote for this guy is beyond me. Here he is, the supposed leader of the free world, and he can't even answer a frickin' reporter's question on a matter as important as our soldiers' deaths. But I guess that's what happens when you haven't actually seen combat or shown up for duty when you are ordered to. He can't attend a single funeral because his mommy said he shouldn't bother himself with unimportant stuff like soldiers' deaths. Someone please get me out of this national nightmare!

[sushi]

25. I can't understand it either

...how any of the American public can vote for this guy is beyond me.

Probably because they're ignorant and therefore easy to scare, and anyone who believes that Kerry would "take orders from France" is stupid. Are there that many stupid people in America?

[Demeter]

27. Unfortunately Yes

And their churches exhort them to reproduce freely and indoctrinate their kids at home, instead of sending them out for a real education.

[yellowcanine]

20. Bush is on the run. The pubs threw everything they had at Kerry and

he not only still stands, but is virtually even with Bush and probably ahead in the EV count. Now the attention is switching to the performance of the economy and the Iraq quagmire. Bush has nowhere to go but down when the focus is on those issues.

[Raenelle]

21. Yeah, & he sees the light at the end of the tunnel,

and he's turned the corner. Well, what the eff else could he say. Ooopsy daisy?

[bif]

23. And he mentioned 9/11 in the same sentence yesterday.

Fuckin' lying bastard.

[barb162]

28. listening to his crap on Iraq

is like listening to his crap on the economy: "we're turning the corner"

Yeah, right.

[Career Prole]

29. "liberty promotes peace"...

...and what? Peace promotes unjustified invasions?
Don't look now bush, but there's a big-assed hole in your logic.

[foo_bar]

31. "We mourn every loss of life," he said.

i.e., abortions.