Stubbornness Won't Help Iraq | Ctr for American Progress

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Stubbornness Won't Help Iraq

September 29, 2004

President Bush's ongoing refusal to see reality in Iraq is getting worse each day. Top security experts in and out the administration all agree that the situation in Iraq is getting worse not better. But the president's dismissive attitude toward realists on Iraq continues to hamper security efforts.

Attacks by insurgents are growing in number and spreading across Iraq. The New York Times reports today that private security assessments of Iraq, based on military data, show more than 2,300 insurgent attacks against troops and civilians over the last 30 days alone. More importantly, these attacks have occurred all over the country and not merely in isolated provinces as President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi insist.


The administration's denial about Iraq is making matters worse. The White House's refusal to listen to sober assessments of Iraq by the CIA, the State Department, and senior military officials is making the insurgents' job easier. Unfortunately, the damage may already be done. As a former intelligence officer states in the Washington Post today, "The best we can hope for is a semi-failed state hobbling along with terrorists and a succession of weak governments."


President Bush's stubbornness has failed to stop the insurgency and create a stable state in Iraq. It is high time Americans got some hard-nosed realism about the security threats we face. There are serious consequences for the administration's ongoing strategic mistakes. And the White House should stop acting like a cheerleading squad for failed policies.

Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund.

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=200109

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