Progressive Talking Points 12/7/05

Moving the Goal Posts

The President's speech today was heavy on rhetoric and light on substance. People want to hear facts and plans, not more rhetoric. The Associated Press has deemed his recent Iraq speeches part of a “public relations campaign” that is attempting to shore up slumping public support for the war. The realities on the ground paint a much bleaker picture. The President is not going to gain the confidence of the American people until he gives them an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq. There remains little evidence that the Bush administration is prepared to shift course to reverse these trends. Most importantly, for three years, “staying the course” in Iraq has made America less safe. It’s time for the President to give us a new course.

• Improvement of the Iraqi economy will come when a majority of Iraqis can actually benefit. President Bush discussed Iraq's per capita gross domestic product, which "rose to $942 in 2004 and is expected to rise to more than $1,000 this year," as a sure sign of the country's economic progress. But the truth is that the benefits of having a higher GDP have not trickled down to a majority of Iraqis and the rest of the economy is, on the whole, extremely weak, with many challenges to come.
  
  
• A poor Iraqi economy will only fuel the insurgency. In Iraq, unemployment rates hover near 40 percent, giving the insurgency fresh recruits. We have seen this same epidemic in the United States, where our dispossessed youth often turn to lives of crime and gangs.
  
  
• The White House ignores the link between security and reconstruction. Desperate to hide the heavy impact of widespread insurgent violence, the White House’s “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq” states that Iraq is struggling to reach its economic potential due largely to “decades of dictatorship and neglect." The White House cannot continue to blame the current reconstruction woes on an imprisoned tyrant. It is time for the President to realize that political success will be short-lived without genuine reconstruction and a sustained recovery plan.