June 16, 2006
Leaked Pentagon Talking Points for GOP Reveals Bush Doublespeak on Iraq
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
BuzzFlash.com has obtained a leaked copy of the Pentagon’s 74-page “Defense Prep Book,” created to arm Republicans with material to help them defend the Bush administration’s Iraq policies in Congressional debate.
Download a PDF of the entire 74-page document by clicking here (317 kb).
While the book is essentially a taxpayer-funded GOP strategy guide with rhetoric straight from Karl Rove, it truly reveals the Bush administration’s hypocrisy in light of the political ploys in the House and Senate today to quash any attempts to form a clear and coherent exit strategy.
To refute claims that the war is not going well, the Defense Prep Book makes a series of claims about the impressive strength of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF):
- “The Army is now at 86% of its authorized end strength” and “on track to complete the initial training and equipping of 100% of their end strength by the end of the year”
- “57 Iraqi Army battalions now control their own battle space,” which covers 30,000 square miles
- “Only 36% of (April combat) operations were independent of Iraqi forces”
- A Sergeant in the U.S. Army is quoted as saying the Iraqis “basically handle everything” while “we do a lot more administrative work than we are used to . . . we just observe (the Iraqi Army)” as opposed to last year when Americans always took the lead
If these claims are true, and the Iraqis have taken over the bulk of the military role, then why has America not reduced its presence and let the Iraqis fill the gaps? If Iraq is on pace to fulfill their target numbers by the end of the year, why has America not begun to plan a gradual withdrawl in the next several months, as Sen. John Kerry and Rep. John Murtha have advocated? Why are the Republicans so intent on avoiding this issue by introducing sham resolutions and debates in Congress?
By branding any efforts to plan for the future as “defeatism” and “cutting and running,” the GOP has prevented any hope of reasonable decision making. Perhaps this doublespeak is evidence that the war is not going as well as Bush would like us to believe.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT