President Bush acknowledged today that 2006 has been a disappointing year for U.S. troops and the Iraqi people, as the optimism of a newly elected government in Baghdad gave way to a successful strategy by "the enemies of liberty" to foment sectarian violence. And he warned that "difficult choices and additional sacrifices" lie ahead in 2007.
In a year-end news conference at the White House, Bush also said he is leaning toward increasing the "permanent size" of the Army and Marine Corps to meet the challenges of a long struggle against Islamic extremists. But he said he has not yet made up his mind whether to boost U.S. forces in Iraq in the short term.
Despite his comment yesterday in an interview with The Washington Post that the United States is currently "not winning" in Iraq, he said today that he continues to believe that "victory in Iraq is achievable" and that U.S. forces will eventually prevail.
Talk about the contradictions in spin here! Bush is now contradicting himself daily. First, Bush wants to increase the permanent size of the Army and Marines, but he fails to realize that the Army is not getting the recruits that is needed to generate this increase. In fact, the Army has to lower their standards just to maintain their recruiting goals. I've certainly written plenty of posts on just how bad the Army is breaking down here, here, here, here, here, and here. And I'm sure there are even more articles on the military problems that can be found on the Internet.
But that is not the only contradiction here. In an interview with the Washington Post, Bush actually said that the U.S. was not winning the war in Iraq. Here's the quote through the WaPost interview:
President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S. armed forces to meet the challenges of a long-term global struggle against terrorists.
As he searches for a new strategy for Iraq, Bush has now adopted the formula advanced by his top military adviser to describe the situation. "We're not winning, we're not losing," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. The assessment was a striking reversal for a president who, days before the November elections, declared, "Absolutely, we're winning."
And now you look at today's press conference, Bush is contradicting himself, saying:
Asked why he continues to follow a path of maintaining U.S. forces in Iraq indefinitely against what polls show is the will of most Americans, Bush said, "I am willing to follow a path that leads to victory. . . . Victory in Iraq is achievable. It hadn't happened nearly as quickly as I hoped it would have."
Would you like another contradiction? How about Bush contradicting what the Pentagon has just reported regarding al Qaeda in Iraq. Here is what Bush said today about al Qaeda in Iraq:
Bush said it was important to analyze what has gone wrong in Iraq as he considers options for a new strategy there. He credited a foreign-led radical group affiliated with the al-Qaeda terrorist network with carrying out a "successful" strategy to ignite sectarian strife in Iraq between minority Sunni Muslim Arabs and the country's Shiite Muslim majority.
President Bush isn't even bothering to listen to his Pentagon generals. This is what the Pentagon said yesterday through CNN:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army has replaced al Qaeda in Iraq as "the most dangerous accelerant" of the sectarian violence plaguing Iraq for nearly a year, according to a Pentagon report.
Attacks by Iraqi insurgents and sectarian militias jumped 22 percent from mid-August to mid-November, and Iraqi civilians suffered the bulk of casualties, according to the quarterly report released on Monday.
The average number of attacks reported each week jumped during that period from nearly 800 to almost 1,000, the report said.
The two most prominent militias -- the Mehdi Army and the Badr Organization -- are armed wings of Shiite political parties whose support is crucial to the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The Mehdi Army in particular "exerts significant influence in Baghdad and the southern provinces of Iraq and on the government of Iraq," and fights periodic battles with Badr supporters, according to the report. The Badr Organization is affiliated with the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The violence taking place in Iraq is not caused by al Qaeda, or foreign terrorist networks, but rather through the Iraqis themselves--specifically the Mehdi Army and the Badr Organization. This is Shiite Iraqis fighting Sunni Iraqis. Al Qaeda has nothing to do with igniting sectarian strife in Iraq between Shiites and Sunnis--the Iraqis are doing this all by themselves.
Of course, Bush is contradicting the American people as well. Here is what Bush is saying in today's press conference:
[Bush] said he does not believe that "most Americans want us just to get out now," and he warned that "retreat" from Iraq would embolden Islamic extremists, hurt U.S. credibility and "dash the hopes of millions who want to be free." Such a move would also enable radicals to have safe havens from which to plot further attacks on the United States, he said.
Of course, we all know that Bush doesn't bother reading the polls. Here's the December 11, 2006 CBS News poll:
(CBS) Americans believe the war in Iraq is going badly and getting worse, and think it's time for the U.S. either to change its strategy or start getting out, according to a CBS News poll.
Forty-three percent say the U.S. should keep fighting, but with new tactics, while 50 percent say the U.S. should begin to end its involvement altogether. Only 4 percent say the U.S. should keep fighting as it is doing now.
Just 21 percent approve of President Bush's handling of the war, the lowest number he's ever received, and an 8-point drop from just a month ago. Most of that drop has been among Republicans and conservatives. Three-quarters of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling Iraq.
Opposition to the war is now taking on historic proportions, with 62 percent saying it was "a mistake" to send U.S. troops to Iraq — slightly more than told a Gallup Poll in 1973 that it was a mistake to send U.S. forces to Vietnam.
Americans generally agree with the assessment of the Iraq Study Group, which called the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating." But fewer than half — 46 percent — think Mr. Bush will seriously consider the bipartisan panel's recommendations; 43 percent think he will not.
Seventy-one percent say the war is going badly, including 39 percent who believe the war is going very badly. Just 25 percent say it's going well. The negative assessment of the war was shared by a majority of Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
Half of all Americans believe the situation in Iraq is getting worse, while fewer than one in 10 think it's getting better.
Only 15 percent of Americans — the lowest number ever — say the U.S. is currently winning the war. And for the first time, a majority (53 percent) believes it's not likely that the U.S. will ultimately succeed.
Of course, I've got the numbers for the December 12, 2006 Washington Post poll, the December 9, 2006 Newsweek poll, and the December 8, 2006 AP-Ipsos Poll. Each of these polls show the same results--a majority of the American public oppose the Bush administration's war in Iraq. They believe that the U.S. is not winning the war. The American public desperately wants a change in course regarding U.S. war in Iraq--mainly by supporting the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. But, we all know that President Bush has tossed the ISG report in the trash.
I'm sure there are even more contradictions in this Bush press conference than what I've found. I have not had a chance to read through the transcripts here. But even with this quick-and-dirty glance at the WaPost story on the Bush press conference, it is just incredible at how the president is living in a fantasyland--contradicting himself daily when compared to even the news stories that have come out this month. What is going to come out of the Bush White House next year--flying pink elephants, elves, the Tooth Fairy, and Santa Clause?
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