| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Michelle Malkin" |
| Date: |
14 Sep 2007 02:54:40 AM |
| Object: |
AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
AP Associated Press
Published: September 13, 2007 11"45 PM ET
WASHINGTON Political realignment in Iraq's volatile Anbar
province was Exhibit A for President Bush's argument Thursday that Iraq is a
fight that the United States is winning.
A look at some of Bush's assertions.
BUSH SAID:
"Anbar province is a good example of how our strategy is
working," Bush said, noting that just last year U.S. intelligence analysts
had written off the Sunni area as "lost to al-Qaida."
FACT CHECK:
Early Thursday, the most prominent figure in a U.S.-backed
revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq was killed by a bomb planted
near his home.
The killing of a chief Anbar ally hours before Bush spoke
showed the tenuous and changeable nature of success in Anbar and Iraq at
large.
Although Sunni sheiks have defied al-Qaida and largely
allied with U.S. forces in Anbar, the province remains violent and al-Qaida
remains a threat.
Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha died 10 days after he met with Bush
during a surprise visit the U.S. leader made to highlight the turnaround in
Anbar. The charismatic young sheik led the Anbar Salvation Council, also
known as the Anbar Awakening - an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi
government and U.S. forces.
The Sunni revolt against al-Qaida led to a dramatic
improvement in security in Anbar cities such as Fallujah and Ramadi. Iraqis
who had been sitting on the sidelines - or planting roadside bombs to kill
Americans - have now joined with U.S. forces to hunt down al-Qaida in Iraq,
whose links to Osama bin Laden's terror network are unclear.
Anbar is not secure, accounting for 18 percent of the U.S.
deaths in Iraq so far this year - making it the second deadliest province
after Baghdad.
Bush's top military commander in Iraq, Gen. David
Petraeus, told Congress this week that Anbar's circumstances are unique and
its model cannot be replicated everywhere in Iraq, but "it does demonstrate
the dramatic change in security that is possible with the support and
participation of local citizens."
BUSH SAID:
Progress in Iraq, including improvement in the performance
of the Iraqi army, led to Petraeus' recommendation that "we have now reached
the point where we can maintain our security gains with fewer American
forces."
Bush said there is still work to be done to improve the
Iraqi national police.
FACT CHECK:
A new White House report on Iraq shows slim progress,
moving just one more political and security goal into the satisfactory
column. Efforts to let former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party rejoin
the political process earned the upgrade, a senior administration official
told The Associated Press.
The report largely tracks a comparable poor assessment in
July on 18 benchmarks. The earlier White House report said the Iraqi
government had made satisfactory gains toward eight benchmarks,
unsatisfactory marks on eight and mixed results on two.
Although the benchmark list is the rubric that the White
House and the Iraqi government proposed earlier this year, the Bush
administration has recently said it offers a skewed or incomplete view of
progress in Iraq.
BUSH SAID:
Bush noted that the government has not met its own
legislative benchmarks, but he pointed to limited political progress among
Iraq's national leaders. He said Iraq has passed a budget and is sharing oil
wealth.
FACT CHECK:
The General Accountability Office reported last month that
Iraq has only partially met a test involving reformation of its budget
process, although the State Department, Pentagon and White House disputed
the finding.
Some proceeds from Iraq's vast oil and gas resources are
being shared among regions, but the country lacks a national framework
agreement for the distribution of oil revenues.
A national oil law, which would also invite foreign
investment, has been repeatedly promised by Iraq's leaders and frequently
mentioned by U.S. officials as a crucial marker of the country's ability to
reconcile its ethnic and religious groups.
Iraq's main political parties are deadlocked over the law
and the legislation has been sent back to party leaders to see if they can
salvage it, an official involved in the talks said Thursday.
BUSH SAID:
"We thank the 36 nations who have troops on the ground in
Iraq and the many others who are helping that young democracy."
FACT CHECK:
There may well be 36 nations contributing to the cause,
but the overwhelming majority of troops come from the United States. For
example, Albania has 120 soldiers there and Bulgaria has 150 non-combat
troops in Iraq. Bush visited both nations this summer as a thank you.
The United States has 168,000 troops in Iraq.
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end
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| User: "David Schwartz" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 03:59:42 AM |
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On Sep 14, 12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
--
My atheism page is back up.
http://www.geeksparadise.com/atheism
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| User: "Witziges Rätsel" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 08:15:39 AM |
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"David Schwartz" <davids@webmaster.com> wrote in message
news:1189760382.935534.105940@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 14, 12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 01:42:24 PM |
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On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:15:39 GMT, "Witziges Rätsel" <zer@roer.com>
wrote:
"David Schwartz" <davids@webmaster.com> wrote in message
news:1189760382.935534.105940@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 14, 12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
Isn't this a news group in which we discuss things of interest to
atheists, not just atheism itself?
--
Al at Webdingers dot com
"They laughed at Newton, they laughed at Einstein, but they also laughed at
Bozo the Clown."
- Carl Sagan
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| User: "Michelle Malkin" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 05:24:22 PM |
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"Al Klein" <rukbat@pern.invalid> wrote in message
news:hflle3duaa6c1ivh3s6flkgnubv79fhn8n@4ax.com...
On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 13:15:39 GMT, "Witziges Rätsel" <zer@roer.com>
wrote:
"David Schwartz" <davids@webmaster.com> wrote in message
news:1189760382.935534.105940@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 14, 12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
Isn't this a news group in which we discuss things of interest to
atheists, not just atheism itself?
Far as I know, it is.
--
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Michelle Malkin (Mickey) aa list#1
BAAWA Knight & Bible Thumper Thumper
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
When fascism comes to America, it will be
wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross -
Sinclair Lewis
--
Al at Webdingers dot com
"They laughed at Newton, they laughed at Einstein, but they also laughed
at
Bozo the Clown."
- Carl Sagan
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| User: "David Schwartz" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
17 Sep 2007 03:36:15 AM |
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On Sep 14, 6:15 am, "Witziges R=E4tsel" <z...@roer.com> wrote:
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
To some extent, there are religious implications to this war that are
appropriate to discuss on alt.atheism. However, the post I was
responding to didn't really have anything to do with *those* aspects
of the war.
I'm not saying it's impossible to say something about the Iraq war
that belongs on alt.atheism. I'm just saying that this wasn't that.
DS
-
http://www.geeksparadise.com/atheism
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| User: "Syd M." |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 08:43:35 AM |
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On Sep 14, 9:15 am, "Witziges R=E4tsel" <z...@roer.com> wrote:
"David Schwartz" <dav...@webmaster.com> wrote in message
news:1189760382.935534.105940@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...> On Sep 14,=
12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
Well, no..
I always thought it was a new crusade.. Or just a attempt at revenge
for his father's failors and the alleged assasination attempt on GB
the elder..
PDW
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| User: "Witziges Rätsel" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 10:44:44 AM |
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"Syd M." <pdwright42@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1189777415.385740.156760@50g2000hsm.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 14, 9:15 am, "Witziges Rätsel" <z...@roer.com> wrote:
"David Schwartz" <dav...@webmaster.com> wrote in message
news:1189760382.935534.105940@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...> On Sep
14, 12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
Well, no..
I always thought it was a new crusade.. Or just a attempt at revenge
for his father's failors and the alleged assasination attempt on GB
the elder..
You're right too. Bush's aggression has many reasons, both overt and
hidden, and they keep changing. Didn't you notice I wrote "in part"?
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| User: "johac" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
14 Sep 2007 05:49:06 PM |
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In article <1189777415.385740.156760@50g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>,
"Syd M." <pdwright42@yahoo.com> wrote:
On Sep 14, 9:15 am, "Witziges R?tsel" <z...@roer.com> wrote:
"David Schwartz" <dav...@webmaster.com> wrote in message
news:1189760382.935534.105940@o80g2000hse.googlegroups.com...> On Sep 14,
12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Isn't this despicable war, in part, a fight between Christians and
Muslims over what to do with Jews? Isn't it prudent for Atheists
to know what the religious are thinking and doing? Shouldn't Atheists
endeavor to unravel the propaganda and disseminate the findings?
Well, no..
I always thought it was a new crusade.. Or just a attempt at revenge
for his father's failors and the alleged assasination attempt on GB
the elder..
And Bush claims that GAWD himself told him to invade Iraq.
PDW
--
John #1782
"We should always be disposed to believe that which appears to us to be
white is really black, if the hierarchy of the church so decides."
- Saint Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) Founder of the Jesuit Order.
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| User: "Yang, AthD h.c" |
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| Title: Re: AP Fact Checks Bush Iraq Speech |
17 Sep 2007 02:55:09 AM |
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On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:59:42 -0700, David Schwartz
<davids@webmaster.com> wrote:
On Sep 14, 12:54 am, "Michelle Malkin" <hypati...@comcast.net> wrote:
AP Fact-Checks Bush Iraq Speech
Does this have anything to do with atheism? Really? Surely there are
newsgroups discussing Iraq policy, the war, and Bush.
Right, because when you talk about what a great thing this war in Iraq
is, it's on-topic, but when Michelle talks about how fucked up this
war is, all of a sudden it's off-topic.
--
Yang
a.a.#28
"I can hardly wait for your head to explode when the Repubs hold onto
both houses of Congress this November. And Yang can quote me on that."
-Fred Stone, 6/14/2006
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