Big A's Front Porch Blog: 09/19/2004

Friday, September 24, 2004

Iraqi Prime Minister Parrots Bush Talking Points

===============================
THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< www.Misleader.org >
===============================

IRAQI PRIME MINISTER PARROTS DISHONEST BUSH TALKING POINTS

Today, speaking before a joint session of Congress, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi parroted the Bush administration's talking points: "We are succeeding in Iraq."[1] The facts on the ground, however, suggest otherwise.

Over the last year the number of insurgents in Iraq has quadrupled.[2] Attacks on U.S. troops are up 100% since last winter.[3] Major Iraqi cities such as Fullujah have become havens for insurgents and are completely inaccessible to U.S. troops.[4] Security situations have stalled
reconstruction - Iraq still has less electricity than they did before the war.[5] Even some Bush administration officials have acknowledged that elections planned for January may have to be delayed.[6]

Sources:

1. "Allawi Says Elections Will Happen as Scheduled," Washington Post, 9/23/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57907.
2. "Mission Still Not Accomplished," Time Magazine, 9/20/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57908.
3. "Iraq: A Quantitative Assessment," Brookings Institution, 9/17/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57909.
4. "Green Zone is 'no longer totally secure'," Financial Times, 9/15/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57910.
5. "Iraq Power Grid Shows U.S. Flaws," Los Angeles Times, 9/12/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57911.
6. "Bush puts Iraqi leader forward," International Herald Tribune, 9/22/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57912.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

FW: Kerry's Fighting Back: Powerful Speech on Iraq

Dear MoveOn member,

The war in Iraq is President Bush's signature failure. To reduce the damage the war has caused him, Bush and his campaign operatives have spent the last six months attacking and distorting John Kerry's position on Iraq. But yesterday, in a powerful speech in New York, Kerry set the record straight.

John Kerry laid out a plan to end Bush's irrational, deceptive and unilateral policy in Iraq, and pursue a policy of international cooperation to end the worsening insurgency and rebuild Iraq -- and bring our troops home. And Kerry made it clear that we would not be in Iraq today if he were president.

The action today is simple: if you like what you hear from Kerry in the speech below, pass this email on to your friends, neighbors, co-workers -- anyone who wants to hear from you on this issue. It's critical that progressives like us spread the word that John Kerry is fighting back on Iraq.

We've excerpted a few of the highlights, below. You can read the whole thing at:

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0920.html

Here are the main points from Kerry's speech on Iraq yesterday:

The war on Iraq was a mistake -- war was unnecessary because the inspections were working: "Today, President Bush tells us that he would do everything all over again, the same way. How can he possibly be serious? Is he really saying that if we knew there were no imminent threat, no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to Al Qaeda, the United States should have invaded Iraq? My answer is no -- because a commander in chief's first responsibility is to make a wise and responsible decision to keep America safe."
Iraq distracted from the war on terror: "The president claims it is the centerpiece of his war on terror. In fact, Iraq was a profound diversion from that war and the battle against our greatest enemy, Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. Invading Iraq has created a crisis of historic proportions and, if we do not change course, there is the prospect of a war with no end in sight."
President Bush misled us about the reasons for the war before it occurred: "He failed to tell the truth about the rationale for going to war. And he failed to tell the truth about the burden this war would impose on our soldiers and our citizens. By one count, the president offered 23 different rationales for this war."
President Bush is still misleading people about Iraq, painting an optimistic picture directly contradicted by his own intelligence officials: "In June, the president declared, 'The Iraqi people have their country back.' Just last week, he told us: 'This country is headed toward democracy. Freedom is on the march.' But the Administration's own official intelligence estimate, given to the president last July, tells a very different story. According to press reports, the intelligence estimate totally contradicts what the president is saying to the American people."
Bush went to war for ideological reasons and consistently misjudged the situation on the ground: "This president was in denial. He hitched his wagon to the ideologues who surround him, filtering out those who disagreed, including leaders of his own party and the uniformed military. The result is a long litany of misjudgments with terrible consequences. The administration told us we'd be greeted as liberators. They were wrong. They told us not to worry about looting or the sorry state of Iraq's infrastructure. They were wrong. They told us we had enough troops to provide security and stability, defeat the insurgents, guard the borders and secure the arms depots. They were wrong. They told us we could rely on exiles like Ahmed Chalabi to build political legitimacy. They were wrong. They told us we would quickly restore an Iraqi civil service to run the country and a police force and army to secure it. They were wrong. In Iraq, this administration has consistently over-promised and under-performed. This policy has been plagued by a lack of planning, an absence of candor, arrogance and outright incompetence. And the president has held no one accountable, including himself."
John Kerry has a four-point plan to fix our Iraq policy:
- "First, the president has to get the promised international support so our men and women in uniform don't have to go it alone. It is late; the president must respond by moving this week to gain and regain international support. The president should convene a summit meeting of the world's major powers and Iraq's neighbors, this week, in New York, where many leaders will attend the U.N. General Assembly. He should insist that they make good on that U.N. resolution. He should offer potential troop contributors specific, but critical roles, in training Iraqi security personnel and securing Iraq's borders. He should give other countries a stake in Iraq's future by encouraging them to help develop Iraq's oil resources and by letting them bid on contracts instead of locking them out of the reconstruction process."
- "Second, the president must get serious about training Iraqi security forces. The president should urgently expand the security forces training program inside and outside Iraq. He should strengthen the vetting of recruits, double classroom training time, and require follow-on field training. He should recruit thousands of qualified trainers from our allies, especially those who have no troops in Iraq. He should press our NATO allies to open training centers in their countries. And he should stop misleading the American people with phony, inflated numbers."
- "Third, the president must carry out a reconstruction plan that finally brings tangible benefits to the Iraqi people. One year ago, the administration asked for and received $18 billion to help the Iraqis and relieve the conditions that contribute to the insurgency. Today, less than a $1 billion of those funds have actually been spent. I said at the time that we had to rethink our policies and set standards of accountability. Now we're paying the price. Now, the president should look at the whole reconstruction package, draw up a list of high visibility, quick impact projects, and cut through the red tape. He should use more Iraqi contractors and workers, instead of big corporations like Halliburton. He should stop paying companies under investigation for fraud or corruption. And he should fire the civilians in the Pentagon responsible for mismanaging the reconstruction effort."
- "Fourth, the president must take immediate, urgent, essential steps to guarantee the promised elections can be held next year. If the president would move in this direction, if he would bring in more help from other countries to provide resources and forces, train the Iraqis to provide their own security, develop a reconstruction plan that brings real benefits to the Iraqi people, and take the steps necessary to hold credible elections next year -- we could begin to withdraw U.S. forces starting next summer and realistically aim to bring all our troops home within the next four years."

Most people will see a second or two of the speech, if they see it at all. But by forwarding this email to your friends and family, you can help make sure people get a full picture of Kerry's position on Iraq -- in his own words. And you can read the whole speech at:

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0920.html

Thanks for everything,

--Eli Pariser
Executive Director, MoveOn PAC
Tuesday, September 21st, 2004

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

FW: U.S. to Bush: Level with us on Iraq

To hear President Bush tell it, Iraq is a bed of roses: "Our strategy is succeeding," he said last week. Yesterday at the U.N., he said Iraq is "on the path to democracy and freedom."

Yet the CIA told Bush recently that the scenarios we're really facing there range from a quagmire to a bloodbath. The CIA's July report outlines three possibilities for Iraq, ranging from "an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous" to "civil war," according to the New York Times.^[1]

Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) is calling on Bush to level with us, by releasing the report, formally called a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), to the public. Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has read the NIE, and he thinks we all should see it too.

Join Senator Graham in demanding that President Bush to face the facts and tell us the truth about Iraq, by releasing the NIE, at:

http://www.moveon.org/tellthetruth/

It's not just Democrats who are questioning the President's grip on reality.

Senator Chuck Hagel (NE), a Republican, says: "The worst thing we can do is hold ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we're winning. Right now, we are not winning. Things are getting worse."^[2] "The fact is, we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble in Iraq."^[3]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also supports releasing the NIE^[4] and says: "We made serious mistakes right after the initial successes by not having enough troops there on the ground, by allowing the looting, by not securing the borders."^[3]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), says "he believes the situation in Iraq is going to get worse before it gets better, adding that he believes the administration has done a 'poor job of implementing and adjusting at times.'" and says "We do not need to paint a rosy scenario for the American people...."^[3]

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) says it's "exasperating for anybody look at this from any vantage point."^[1]

Those are Republicans talking. Here's what the generals and national security experts are saying, in a terrific recent piece in the UK's Guardian newspaper:

Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency, said: "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

Retired general Joseph Hoare, the former marine commandant and head of US Central Command, [said]: "The idea that this is going to go the way these guys planned is ludicrous. There are no good options.... The priorities are just all wrong."

Jeffrey Record, professor of strategy at the Air War College, said: "I see no ray of light on the horizon at all. The worst case has become true..."

W. Andrew Terrill, professor at the Army War College's strategic studies institute -- and the top expert on Iraq there -- said: "I don't think that you can kill the insurgency"... "The idea there are x number of insurgents, and that when they're all dead we can get out is wrong. The insurgency has shown an ability to regenerate itself because there are people willing to fill the ranks of those who are killed"... "Most Iraqis consider us occupiers, not liberators."

General Odom [also] said: "This is far graver than Vietnam. There wasn't as much at stake strategically, though in both cases we mindlessly went ahead with the war that was not constructive for US aims. But now we're in a region far more volatile, and we're in much worse shape with our allies."... "I've never seen [tensions] so bad between the office of the secretary of defence and the military. There's a significant majority believing this is a disaster."^[5]

Just as important are the opinions of those whose loved ones are serving in Iraq, like Martha Jo McCarthy, whose husband is on National Guard duty there. She says:

"Everyone supports the troops, and I know they're doing a phenomenal job over there, not only fighting but building schools and digging wells. But supporting the troops has to mean something more than putting yellow-ribbon magnets on your car and praying they come home safely."

"I read the casualty Web site every day and ask myself, 'Do I feel safer here?' No. I don't think we can win this war through arrogance. Arrogance is different from strength. Strength requires wisdom, and I think we need to change from arrogance to solid strength."^[6]

Join Senator Graham now in calling on President Bush to face the facts and level with us, by releasing the CIA's report, at:

http://www.moveon.org/tellthetruth/

President Bush has got to tell us the truth about Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction. No Saddam-al Qaeda connection. The mission is not accomplished. The transition has not been peaceful and stable. Attacks on our troops are increasing, not decreasing. These failures lie solely with the president, and he owes us an honest explanation.

Thanks for signing our petition today, and for everything you do.

Sincerely,

--Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
September 22nd, 2004

Footnotes:

(See our website for links to these articles)

[1] New York Times: U.S. Intelligence Shows Pessimism on Iraq's Future
September 16th, 2004

[2] Washington Post editorial: Mr. Bush and Iraq
September 18th, 2004

[3] Washington Post: Three GOP Senators Urge Refocusing of Iraq Policy
September 19th, 2004

[4] 'FOX News Sunday', September 19th, 2004, transcript

[5] The Guardian (UK): Far graver than Vietnam (opinion piece by
Sidney Blumenthal, Washington Bureau Chief of Salon.com)
September 16th, 2004

[6] Washington Post: Quiet Calls for Change (column by David Broder)
September 16th, 2004

FW: Bush Attacks Kerry While Cozying Up To Dictators

===============================
THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< www.Misleader.org >
===============================

BUSH ATTACKS KERRY WHILE COZYING UP TO DICTATORS

President Bush earlier this week attacked his opponent, saying "It's hard to imagine a candidate running for President prefers the stability of a dictatorship to the hope and security of democracy."[1] Yet, it is President Bush who regularly declares his personal friendship and gratitude to some of the world's most oppressive dictators, often wining and dining them at his
ranch in Texas.

In June of 2004, Bush referred to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as "my friend,"[2] even though the Saudi Arabian government has been investigated for its financial ties to the 9/11 terrorists[3] and is listed by the U.S. State Department as one of the world's most oppressive regimes on the planet.[4]

In April, he referred to the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as "my friend" and welcomed him to the Crawford ranch by saying "I always look forward to visiting with him."[5] Bush gave this praise to a dictator, even though Human Rights Watch notes that government "torture in Egypt is widespread and systemic"[6] and the State Department says Mubarak has passed a Constitution in which the electorate is barred from being "presented with a choice among competing presidential candidates."[7]

In 2002, it was Bush who said "I want to welcome the President of China to our ranch, and to Texas."[8] Bush was inviting into his home a dictator who, according to the U.S. State Department, presides over a government that regularly engages in the "arbitrary or unlawful" murder of its own citizens, kidnappings of political dissidents, and repression of religious minorities.[9]

Sources:

1. "President's Remarks at Victory 2004 Rally in New York City," The White House, 9/20/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57525.
2. "President Bush Holds Press Conference Following the G8 Summit," The White House, 6/10/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57526.
3. "Saudi Government Provided Aid to 9/11 Hijackers, Sources Say," Truthout.org, 8/02/03, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57527.
4. "Saudi Arabia: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003," U.S. Department of State, 2/25/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57528.
5. "President Bush, Egyptian President Mubarak Meet with Reporters," The White House, 4/12/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57529.
6. "Egypt: Human Rights Background," Human Rights Watch, 10/2001,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57530.
7. "Egypt: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003," U.S. Department of State, 2/25/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57531.
8. "President Bush, Chinese President Jiang Zemin Discuss Iraq, N. Korea," The White House, 10/25/02, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57532.
9. "China: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003," U.S. Department of State, 2/25/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3476437&l=57533.

Visit www.Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. Â»

===========================================================

Subscribe to the Daily Mislead! Go to http://www.misleader.org and enter
your e-mail address in the "Receive the Daily Mislead" box in the
top-left corner of the page.

To unsubscribe send an email to latest@daily.misleader.org with only the
word "remove" in the subject line of your e-mail, or visit
http://daily.misleader.org/unsubscribe/ and follow the instructions
listed there.

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

FW: Bush Rejected Plans to Go After Top Terrorist

===============================
THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
< www.Misleader.org >
===============================

BUSH REJECTED PLANS TO GO AFTER TOP TERRORIST

In his effort to claim he is the strongest candidate on national security,
President Bush has lately been speaking a lot about how he is doing
everything possible to track down terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi[1] - the
man thought to be responsible for escalating attacks on U.S. soldiers in
Iraq.[2] But according to NBC News, it was Bush who in 2002 and 2003
rejected three plans to strike and neutralize Zarqawi because he believed a
successful strike would undermine the public case for targeting Saddam
Hussein.

As NBC News reported, "Long before the war, the Bush administration had
several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi
himself - but never pulled the trigger." In June 2002, the Pentagon drafted
plans to attack a camp Zarqawi was at with cruise missiles and airstrikes.
The plan was killed by the White House. Four months later, as Zarqawi
planned to use ricin in terrorist attacks in Europe, the Pentagon drew up a
second strike plan, yet "the White House again killed it." In January 2003,
the Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the
White House killed it.[3]

According to NBC, "Military officials insist their case for attacking
Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying
the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against
Saddam."[4]

Zarqawi is thought to be at least indirectly responsible for hundreds of
U.S. casualties. Just yesterday, Zarqawi's terrorist group beheaded an
American civilian in Baghdad.[5]

Sources:

1. "President's Remarks to the General Conference of the National Guard
Association of the United States," The White House, 9/14/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3460711&l=56809.
2. "Going after Iraq's most wanted man," The Christian Science Monitor,
9/21/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3460711&l=56810.
3. "Avoiding attacking suspected terrorist mastermind," NBC News, 3/02/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3460711&l=56811.
4. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3460711&l=56811.
5. "Zarqawi Group Beheads U.S. Hostage Armstrong," Reuters, 9/20/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=3460711&l=56812.

Visit www.Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion. >

===========================================================

Subscribe to the Daily Mislead! Go to http://www.misleader.org and enter
your e-mail address in the "Receive the Daily Mislead" box in the top-left
corner of the page.

To unsubscribe send an email to latest@daily.misleader.org with only the
word "remove" in the subject line of your e-mail, or visit
http://daily.misleader.org/unsubscribe/ and follow the instructions listed
there.