Progressive Talking Points 1/6/06

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Yesterday marked the fourth deadliest day in Iraq since the war began in 2003 – 140 people across the country were killed, including five American soldiers. While violence is on the rise, President Bush continues to defy the reality on the ground. President Bush is good at using PR slogans like “Plan for Victory” when talking about Iraq, but the evidence on the ground proves that the White House has no plan at all.

• Bush’s happy talk directly contradicts with the stark assessments of his own Generals. In an interview with the New York Times the top U.S. operational commander in Iraq, Lt. General John Vines warned that the U.S. trained Iraqi security forces are in danger of turning into armed gangs and "militias for hire." Vines cautioned that if the Iraqi ministries "don't produce enough income to support their security forces, members of those forces could turn to ulterior purposes and could become militias or armed gangs.
  
  
• Rather than addressing both the economic and military challenges Iraq must meet to be secure, Bush’s recently announced plan to withdraw resources from crucial reconstruction projects would only lead to more chaos, as evidenced by yesterday’s attacks. In an August 2003 speech, President Bush said that “the ultimate aim [is] for the infrastructure to be the best in the region.” However, with oil production below prewar levels, unemployment at all-time highs, and a broken economy, Iraq is nowhere near the administration’s stated goals.
  
  
• The administration must alter their strategy and face the facts. President Bush can fight the public relations war with the best of them; however, when it comes to managing the Iraq War, foreign policy talking points and “Victory Strategies” on paper will not save our troops and improve the lives of ordinary Iraqis.