SHAMELESS! "Being President Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry"

[nostamj]

an excerpt from today's emailing from www.americanprogress.org. HIGHLY recommended! sign up at the website!


IRAQ
Being President Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry

In May 2003, President Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in a flight suit, stood under a banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," and triumphantly announced that major combat operations were over in Iraq. Since that time, 900 U.S. troops have died, key cities have fallen under the control of rebel forces, and the size of the insurgency has quadrupled. Knowing what he knows now, would the president pull the same stunt again? "Absolutely." In a slap in the face to the families of the 900 troops who have died in the last 16 months, Bush informed Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that he wouldn't change a thing about the spectacle he put on aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Bush told a surprised O'Reilly, "You bet I'd do it again." This April, even the president's top political advisor, Karl Rove – not known for easily admitting error – said that he regretted the use of the "Mission Accomplished" banner. Catch Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) speak and answer questions on the Iraq war today at 12:30 on C-SPAN.

VIOLENCE IS FREQUENT AND WIDESPREAD: In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Bush reiterated his claim that the United States is making "steady progress" in creating a secure and democratic Iraq. Secret security reports prepared for the government and leaked to the Washington Post, however, tell a different story. According to data complied by Kroll Security International on behalf of the U.S. government, "attacks against U.S. troops, Iraqi security forces and private contractors number in the dozens each day and have spread to parts of the country that had been relatively peaceful." While Bush frequently claims that the transfer of power from the U.S.-controlled Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi provisional government on June 28 has improved conditions in Iraq, attacks on U.S. forces in the past two weeks number about 70 a day, compared to 40 or 50 a day before the transfer. At a Rose Garden press conference last week, Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said "there is nothing, no problem, except on a small pocket in Fallujah." But the Kroll data indicates attacks on troops in "nearly every major city in central, western and northern Iraq." Read more about the administration's deception on the reality in Iraq.

SENIOR COMMANDER OF IRAQI SECURITY FORCES ARRESTED BY U.S.: Last week, Bush stressed that "Iraq must be able to defend itself. And Iraqi security forces are taking increasing responsibility for their country's security." Iraqi security forces may have more problems than the president let on. On Sunday, the U.S. military "arrested a senior commander of the nascent Iraqi National Guard." The commander was arrested on suspicion of "having associations with known insurgents." The move raised concerns "about the loyalty and reliability of the new security forces just months before general elections are scheduled across the embattled country."

COLIN POWELL SAYS THINGS ARE GETTING WORSE: Bush continues to insist that there have been "months of steady progress" in Iraq. Yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that "the insurgency in Iraq is getting worse and that the U.S. occupation there has increased anti-American sentiment in Muslim countries."

ABIZAID PREDICTS FLAWED ELECTIONS: Powell said that the only hope of turning things around in Iraq was the elections scheduled for January. But Gen. John Abizaid, top U.S. commander in Iraq, "said Sunday he expected flawed elections." Abizaid said he didn't think "Iraq will have a perfect election." But, according to Abizaid, that isn't anything to worry about because Iraq will just be following the U.S. model. Abizaid said, "if I recall, looking back at our own election four years ago, it wasn't perfect either." The administration "appears to be willing to risk holding an election marred by violence and, quite possibly, incomplete balloting to keep to its schedule."

MOST IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION FUNDS NOT BENEFITING IRAQIS: According to U.S. government officials and independent experts, "less than half of the aid in the Bush administration's reconstruction package for Iraq is being spent in ways that will benefit Iraqis." Much of the money spent on security services, insurance, property losses, contractors' profits, and foreign workers' salaries never reaches Iraqis. According to Frederick Barton of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "We're spending a lot of money we believe is helping people and converting Iraq to a new kind of economy. That's where I think we're kidding ourselves."

IRAQ WAR ASSISTS AL QAEDA RECRUITING: According to intelligence and law enforcement officials interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, the Iraq war has emerged as "a rallying point for a seemingly endless supply of young extremists willing to die in a jihad, or holy war." Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, dean of Europe's anti-terrorism investigators, said, "In Iraq, a problem has been created that didn't exist there before." The sentiment was echoed by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who said on Friday that the invasion of Iraq has "ended up bringing more trouble to the world," in part because it "has aroused the passions of the Muslims."

ADMINISTRATION PRIVATELY LOWERS EXPECTATIONS: Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) said that members of the administration have privately told him they've lowered expectations for democracy in Iraq. Kolbe quotes one administration official: "When we went in there, I thought we would build American-style democracy. Hell, I'd be happy with Romanian-style democracy now."