News Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

[Cyrus]

In fact, Cobra II's thesis is that the present difficulty is the result of five significant errors that occurred in preparation--it does not argue that a lack of preparation is responsible.

You have got to be joking me. "Significant errors that occurred in preparation." Who are you, Donald Rumsfeld?

That is what you call, not being prepared!.

 

[Astronuc]

Excerpt from Ricks's book -

http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=fiasco

I'll have to add it to my list.

 

[Astronuc]

Insurgent Bombs Directed at G.I.’s Increase in Iraq
By MICHAEL R. GORDON, MARK MAZZETTI and THOM SHANKER
NY Times, August 17, 2006

New assessments by the U.S. military and the intelligence community provide evidence that violence in Iraq is at its highest level yet.

Bush's assessment is that his administration is winning.

 

[edward]

Bush's assessment is that his administration is winning.

And since when we are not winning we must make it look as if we are winning.

U.S. military leaders in Baghdad have put out for bid a two-year, $20 million public relations contract that calls for extensive monitoring of U.S. and Middle Eastern media in an effort to promote more positive coverage of news from Iraq.

The contract calls for assembling a database of selected news stories and assessing their tone as part of a program to provide "public relations products" that would improve coverage of the military command's performance, according to a statement of work attached to the proposal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083003011_pf.html

 

[Astronuc]

Pentagon Report: Iraq Is at Risk of Civil War
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5751612

All Things Considered, September 1, 2006 · The Pentagon acknowledges what already has been expressed by U.S. military commanders and others recently: Sectarian violence in Iraq is spreading beyond Baghdad. In its quarterly report, the Pentagon report showed Iraqi deaths have risen by 50 percent over the previous quarter.

Five weeks after the Bush administration brought thousands of new troops to quell rising sectarian violence in Baghdad, Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Rodman says violence between Sunni and Shiite muslims has increased elsewhere in Iraq.

The report says violence has held steady in Baghdad. But it has increased in the southern city of Basra, where British troops have clashed with the Mahdi Army. It has risen in Diyala Province in central Iraq, as well as in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk.

The report says, "Conditions that could lead to civil war exist in Iraq, specifically in and around Baghdad, and concern about civil war within the Iraqi civilian population has increased in recent months."

Nationwide in Iraq, the average number of weekly attacks tallied by the Pentagon has increased 15 percent over the past few months. Iraqi casualties have risen by 51 percent. That translates to 1,000 additional Iraqis killed each month.

The accurate title should be that the Bush administration finally concedes what they have been denying for months. Delusional thinking in Washington has always been a problem, but the Reagan and Bush administrations have raised it to new and astronomical highs.

Deconstructing Bush's Iraq War Rhetoric [Umm . . . the correct term is Propaganda]
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5749759

Day to Day, September 1, 2006 · President Bush is giving a series of speeches aimed at bolstering support for the continued occupation of Iraq. Recent polls indicate a majority of Americans favor a plan to withdraw troops as sectarian violence there edges closer to open civil war. The president asserts that Iraq is the front line in the so-called "war on terror" and vows to stay the course.

Duke University professor Christopher Gelpi talks with Madeleine Brand about the president's use of terms such as "totalitarian" and "fascist" to describe the terrorist threat.

The U.S. War on Terrorism, and in Iraq
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5744828

All Things Considered, August 31, 2006 · Discussing his efforts to fight terrorism, President Bush says that victory in Iraq is essential. For thoughts on how the United States might win in Iraq, Robert Siegel talks with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Ambassador James Dobbins and former Special Forces officer Michael Vickers. We also hear from Iraqi citizens about their thoughts on U.S. policy in their country.

Uncertainty Clouds U.S. Troop Levels in Iraq
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5749756

Day to Day, September 1, 2006 · There are currently about 140,000 U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq. Hopes earlier this year were that some might be able to return home soon as Iraqi troops take up security tasks. But now there are doubts of an overall drawdown.