Yes, there are a few bright spots in the country, but so what if the Iraqis can’t or won’t take over from us and keep it going. Are we just prolonging the inevitable? This article details the problems with the report Bush’s press conference danced around with.
The outrageous White House report on Iraq
The White House report released today, on how far Iraq has progressed toward 18 political and military benchmarks, is a sham.
According to the report, which was required by Congress, progress has been “satisfactory” on eight of the benchmarks, “unsatisfactory” on another eight, and mixed on two. At his press conference this morning, President Bush, seeing the glass half full, pronounced the report “a cause for optimism”—and for staying on course.
Yet a close look at the 25-page report reveals a far more dismal picture and a deliberately distorted assessment. The eight instances of “satisfactory” progress are not at all satisfactory by any reasonable measure—or, in some cases, they indicate a purely procedural advance. The eight “unsatisfactory” categories concern the central issues of Iraqi politics—the disputes that must be resolved if Iraq is to be a viable state and if the U.S. mission is to have the slightest chance of success.
Here’s another article that discusses the “disconnect between the military and political views” on the war.
Iraq Report May Mean Longer U.S. Surge
While many in Congress are pushing President Bush to alter course in Iraq by September if not sooner, his new status report on the war strongly implies that the administration believes its military strategy will take many more months to meet its goals.
The report cited no specific timeframe, but its language suggests what some U.S. commanders have hinted at recently: The troop reinforcements that Bush ordered in January may need to remain until spring 2008.
The one reason I can see to stay is — as Bush stated — to keep Iraq from becoming a terrorist enclave (which it already is), a situation we created by starting the war. But is that worth the price?
#61, Mister Mustard,
What??? Risk his life fighting sand fleas??? Bush would thank this young man for fighting the war on the home front attacking all the nay sayers.
mxpwr03,
I don’t think you understand. The US can not WIN this conflict. There is no plan. There is no goal. Our fighting men and women live in air-conditioned comfort until they have to go out to drive around the city. Occasionally they set up a road block or kick in some door to search for weapons. Sometimes they even shoot some innocent civilian in error.
But no one knows what the hell they are doing there. For the past three years we have been hearing how “they have the terrorists on the run”. Yet our casualties continue to climb. As do the Iraqi civilian casualties.
The electrical power doesn’t come much. The water doesn’t always run and sometimes is bad. The medical clinics that were supposed to have been built mostly weren’t. The hospitals don’t have medicines. The stores don’t have many goods. The destroyed roads are still waiting to be repaired. Unemployment still is at 80%. The intelligency have left. Fuel is in short supply. Schools don’t have supplies or books. Oil exports are too insignificant to measure.
There is NO LOGICAL REASON for one more American to give his life, his arm, or any of his blood in this stupid war. Bring them home yesterday.
You don’t expect me to read all that do you?
#45…S&B….the greatest threat isn’t Diebold, it’s that people just don’t bother or care to vote. It’s that people won’t bother to look at the candidates and issues then vote. You want verifiable…then get rid of all these softwear based programs and return to paper ballots, marked with a pencil or indelible ink, counted by little grannies and granni pa’s that stay up all night on election night to make sure it’s an honest election. Stop exit polling…stop the networks from putting up numbers until they actually HAVE numbers and even then not until ALL polling places have closed. 2 day voting might be nice too.
#46…Doug….I read a report in the Times of London back in September I think. I’m searching their archive for it, they have a new system and it’s a bitch to use……the article was about how Malaki finally allowed them to clean house in the police forces and army of Iraq. Up until then he and the Interior Minister refused to vet those that were in both services to see who may belong to the militias. Because of desertions and the new vetting, some units were left with less than 100 men and were having to be reconstituted…..this resulted in a decrease in the number of Level 1 units actually capable of fighting alone.
Not sure if that could be part of what your seeing.
#49…Mr. Fusion…Actually, your right. After I wrote it and posted it I realized I stated it wrong….I meant to say the same as you point out.
#53…Mister Mustard….If the report is classified, then how was Slate or anyone else able to write a story about it’s finding’s?
Unless they are basing their stories on the bits and pieces that have been made public….in which case their stories can’t possibly be accurate.
I know that you and some others are so vehemantly anti-Bush that you may not have noticed this….but this is the second or third time he has admitted publically that goals are NOT being met in Iraq. This is subtle, but a big change over just 16 months ago for this President.
#63…Mr. Fusion….As usual your way behind in the news. I guess thats because anything that happens that might be helpful to the U.S. isn’t posted on those leftist sites you get your talking points from.
Since we started putting the extra troops into Baghdad, our people, along with Iraqi units have moved out into the neighborhoods as they clear them of insurgants or Al Quida, and have set up base houses right in the neighborhoods. No more air conditioned housing. They live and patrol the cleared areas to make sure that the bad guys don’t move back in and retake the area(something we didn’t do until the surge started. And it’s paying off, freed of constant survalliance by Al Quida or the insurgants the locals are providing good solid info on the whereabouts on the remaining bad guys. We are finally doing what Rumsfild nd Bremer didn’t think was important….interacting with the civilians and winning hearts and minds.
Not being one to so quickly wave the white flag of surrender as you seem to be, I still think we can win, if we have a 6 to 8 more months of the higher troop levels, combined with the cooperation(which we are getting in cities all over the Sunni triangle now) of the locals….or at least give the Iraqi’s more precious time to sort out a political settlement and bolster Iraqi troop morale.
The American people want us out of Iraq, but the majority still want us to leave gradually, allowing the Iraqi’s the time to hopefully be able to secure their own country. Even a couple of your parties Presidential candidates are saying the same thing.
But never fear Fusion….the French are always looking for a few good white flag of surrender wavers, so there will be employment for you, Hillary, Obama, Reid, Boxer and several others.
I’ll wait patiently for your usual foul mouthed rant. 🙂
69,
How about a reasoned response?
What bothers me soooooo much about this situation is the unbelievable arrogance of the administration in light of the incredible failure Iraq has become.
None of us dispute the fact that our withdrawal will precipitate increased chaos, but Bush and his supporters act as if the war has been going according to plan all along and it is the unpatriotic “lefties” who are the bad guys.
If Bush woulds actually step up and admit he LIED TO US to start a war, ask our forgiveness, and ask for a debate on how to further proceed I for one would be a lot more comfortable with the situation.
As it stands, not only are those who are against he war traitors, we are idiots to not let Bush “finish” his foolish, wasteful, and damaging war in HIS way. So not only do we have to shut up and support the war, we are supposed to allow Bush to act as he pleases in his policies, even though nearly every single thing Bush has done in both of our countries has turned to shit.
3,500 lives. Hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars. For a war based on lies. LIES. Yet we are told that Bush knows what he’s doing even though we’re into this longer than WWII and will almost certainly challenge the duration of Vietnam (which this conflict totally mirrors, down to the lies the administration is tellling itself about the support of the local government and people).
But we are supposed to keep sucking and swallowing. More war. Bush will get it right soon, and BTW, he’s going to pass the problerm over to the next administration after Bush fininshes destroying our Army, our economy, and our standing in the world.
I say impeach Bush and Cheney and have the new President turn to the world and say “our bad, temporary insanity, we’re better now” and try and fix the messes in the world Bush made with international cooperation and diplomacy.
Dropping even more bombs on people will never get them to like, respect, or even obey you and will only support the perpetual cycle of hate.
>>I say impeach Bush and Cheney and have the new President turn
>>to the world and say “our bad, temporary insanity, we’re better now”
Now THAT is an exit strategy I could support. Dump bush and Presidents Cheney/Rove, and make a clean start. It’s a hell of a mess to clean up, but it can be done. Just not with Those three losers in office.
>after 4 years and billions of US taxpayer dollars the ISF should, as the Iraqi PM maintains, be able to secure Iraq all by its lonesome.
So should South Korea, Germany, and Yugoslavia. I would think the hot war zone would be the last place to expect that US troops aren’t needed.
#69 “at least give the Iraqi’s more precious time to sort out a political settlement and bolster Iraqi troop morale.”
You mean when the Iraqi Parliament gets back from vacation?
http://tinyurl.com/278ebg
I am not detecting the proper sense of urgency on the Iraqi side. This is a common observation by outsiders who have had the chance to deal with the Iraqi government.
#66. Perhaps that is contributing to the shortfall, but I keep coming back to the billions and billions of dollars and thousands and thousands of man-hours that the US has poured into the Iraqi military.
for them to be moving backwards, even temporarily, is appalling.
#69 [again]
“The American people want us out of Iraq, but the majority still want us to leave gradually, allowing the Iraqi’s the time to hopefully be able to secure their own country.”
Not exactly. The patience of the American people is running out. the majority want to begin troop cuts within 9 months
“Whatever you think is the best course for the U.S. in Iraq, are you willing to give President Bush nine more months before any cutbacks in U.S. troop levels are made, or not?”
Yes – 41
No – 54
Unsure – 5
And the vast majority (72%) want us out in a couple years, max, even if the troop level is cut back to 60k.
Note that these responses were indifferent to the progress the Iraqi government makes. And 65% were either not too confident or not confident at all the Iraqi government could provide security for its people without US troops.
http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm
So it can be fairly said that the US public is ready to leave regardless of what the Iraqi government does or is capable of doing.
I think every single US troop in Iraq should go on R&R for the month of August too, as the Iraqui pariliament is doing while their country burns. Just imagine, a full month with no American deaths. How long’s it been since THAT happened.
Then at the beginning of September, when the Iraqui vacationers deign to come back and try to rebuild their country (assuming there’s still something LEFT of it, after a month of not being propped up by American troops), we can go back to fighting the Iraqui’s war again. Oh but wait; that’s September. That’s when we get to find out of the “surge” worked or not. Damn. Vactations are a bitch!