http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/05/06/ale05087.html

June 21, 2005

White House Claims Progress in Iraq as Violence and Casualties Mount

BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

News from the DNC:

This week, the White House is beginning a new public relations
campaign to reassure the American people about the continuing violence
in Iraq, as a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup polls shows public opinion of
Bush's performance continuing to drop. Despite President Bush's
assurance yesterday that he "thinks about Iraq every single day," he
is offering nothing new in the way of policy. Instead, he is simply
planning to reiterate his view that the war with Iraq was necessary,
and that we are "making progress"- a view that is now rejected by the
majority of Americans and key Republicans in Congress. Americans are
painfully aware that even with 1,700 fatalities, there is no end in
sight. The President may be adjusting his rhetoric, but his policy
remains unchanged - and PR campaigns can't hide the reality of the
difficult road ahead.

The Administration's lack of leadership has led to a drop in support
for President Bush's handling of the War in Iraq as well as the War on
Terror. Americans are now losing confidence in the Bush
Administration's ability to protect Americans at home and abroad.

"The Bush Administration is touting progress and predicting victory in
short order, but after years of promises that don't pan out, bad
intelligence and misleading statements, neither the American people
nor leading Republicans are buying it anymore," said Democratic
National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "We see again today an
increasing number of Americans have no confidence in this
Administration to protect us from terrorism or devise a plan to win
the war in Iraq. Rather than mounting a PR strategy, Bush should
provide the American people, our troops and their families with the
leadership they deserve by presenting a clear direction that will win
the peace and bring our troops home safely."

Bush Administration Losing Support on Iraq and War on Terror. Only 39
percent of Americans now favor the war with Iraq, down from 47 percent
in March 2005. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll also found that 38
percent of Americans have not much or no confidence at all in
President Bush's ability to protect US citizens from future acts of
terrorism, up from 26 percent in February 2005. [USA Today, 6/21/05;
Gallup]

WHITE HOUSE INSISTS THEY ARE MAKING PROGRESS IN IRAQ
Bush Is Pleased With The Progress In Iraq. "I am pleased that in less
than a year's time, there's a democratically elected government in
Iraq, there are thousands of Iraq soldiers trained and better equipped
to fight for their own country [and] that our strategy is very clear,"
Bush said during a Rose Garden news conference. Overall, he said, "I'm
pleased with the progress." [Washington Post, 6/8/05]

Cheney Believes They're In The Last Throes Of The Insurgency. Vice
President Cheney was asked whether he expected to be able to leave
Iraq within his Administration he answered, "I do. . . . I think
they're in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency" [CNN,
5/30/05]

Secretary of State Rice Said the U.S. Making Progress in Iraq.
"...There's a struggle, politically, but they are making a lot of
progress." [MSNBC's Hardball, 6/13/05]

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Said that the U.S. Was Making "Very
Good Progress" with Iraqi Security Forces. Rumsfeld said that both the
number of trained Iraqis and overall security conditions in the
country would determine when U.S. troops could leave in large numbers.
"We're making very good progress with the Iraqi security forces.." he
said. [The Baltimore Sun, 2/4/05]

Pentagon Spokesman Larry Di Rita Said Americans Need to Recognize the
Progress in Iraq. Despite increasing casualties, the Pentagon
spokesman Larry Di Rita recently said that "Americans need to go back
and evaluate the progress that has been made in Iraq..." [American
Forces Press Service, 6/16/05]

BUT CASUALTIES MOUNT AS VIOLENCE INCREASES
Over 1,700 U.S. Troops Have Died In Iraq. Eighty-eight U.S. troops
died in May and 45 were killed in the first half of June, the highest
level since 126 troops were slain in January, before the Iraqi
election. As of Thursday June 16th, at least 1,713 U.S. troops had
been killed since the start of the war. Since May 1, 2003, when
President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had
ended, 1,570 U.S. troops have died, according to AP's count. That
includes at least 1,191 deaths resulting from hostile action,
according to the military's numbers. [Los Angeles Times, 6/17/05;
Associated Press, 6/15/05]

U.S. Troops Facing Increased Violence. More American soldiers have
been killed since the handover of sovereignty on June 28 than during
the initial invasion. The numbers show that "18 months after the
invasion, the fighting appears to be intensifying rather than waning."
In total, 1,713 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq and over
12,600 have been wounded. [Washington Post, 9/9/04; Brookings
Institution, "Iraq Index," Updated 5/26/05; Los Angeles Times,
6/17/05]

U.S. Forces Are Being Attacked At Increasing Rates. More U.S. soldiers
and Marines have been killed by hostile fire in Iraq during the month
of May than either of the three previous months. If the trend
continues, May will be one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops
during the past year. With a week left, the month will likely eclipse
all but two others -- November and September 2004 -- for deaths by
hostile fire since June 2004, based on figures tabulated by Iraq
Coalition Casualty Count, a group that tracks troop deaths from
Department of Defense news releases. [Akron Beacon Journal, 5/25/05]

Gen. Myers: Insurgency Could Last 9 Years. At the Pentagon, Gen.
Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated
Thursday [5/12/05] that the insurgency could last for many more years.
"This requires patience," he said at a news conference. "This is a
thinking and adapting adversary ... I wouldn't look for results
tomorrow. One thing we know about insurgencies, that they last from
three, four years to nine years." [AP, 5/13/05]

Administration's Failure To Plan For Post-War Iraq Aided Insurgency.
The Bush administration's failure to plan adequately for the postwar
period has been well documented. The Pentagon, for example, ignored
extensive State Department studies of how to achieve stability after
an invasion, administer a postwar government and rebuild the country.
And Administration officials have acknowledged the mistake of
dismantling the Iraqi army and canceling pensions to its veteran
officers -- which many say hindered security, enhanced anti-U.S.
feeling and aided what would later become a violent insurgency.
[Washington Post, 6/12/05]

MANY SEEING THROUGH THE RHETORIC
6 in 10 Americans Support Withdrawal Of Troops. A Gallup poll last
week found that about 6 in 10 Americans advocated a partial or full
withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. This month, an Associated
Press-Ipsos poll found that 41% of Americans approved of how Bush was
handling Iraq, the president's worst grade to date. [Los Angeles
Times, 6/17/05]

Bipartisan Group Introduced Resolution To Require Pullout Beginning In
October 2006. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Rep. Walter
Jones of North Carolina and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, introduced a
resolution that would require Bush to submit a plan for troop
withdrawal by the end of the year and to begin the pullout by October
2006. "After 2 1/2 years, it's right to take a fresh look. We have a
right to ask, 'What are the goals?'"said Jones. Jones, a conservative
Republican, said the measure would provide a way for Americans to
"debate and discuss" the issue. "If we didn't do this today, we may be
here in 10 years." [Los Angeles Times, 6/17/05]

Graham: Administration Has Not Prepared The Public. "The war has gone
on longer and more violently than people envisioned," Sen. Lindsey O.
Graham (R-S.C.) said. "We always accentuated the positive and never
prepared the public for the worst. . . . People are dying in larger
numbers than we thought, and the insurgency seems to be growing
stronger, not weaker." The result, Graham said, is that Bush
"ill-prepared the public for the trial and tribulations" of planting a
new democracy in the heart of the Middle East. [Washington Post,
6/16/05]

McCain: There Are Tough Times Ahead. "It's a long, hard struggle and
very gradually maybe we are making progress," McCain said. "There are
tough times ahead." [Washington Post, 6/8/05]

Hagel: White House Disconnected From Reality. "The White House is
completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it
up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq...More
and more of my colleagues up here are concerned," Hagel said.
[Washington Times, 6/20/05]

Weldon: Administration Misleading Americans. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA)
said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others are misleading
Americans about the number of functional Iraqi troops and warned the
president to pay more attention to shutting off Syrian and Iranian
assistance to the insurgency. "We don't want to raise the expectations
of the American people prematurely," he said. [Washington Post,
6/8/05]

BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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Harry