Spin Zone Revisited

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Again, I must ask the question..."Am I living in a parallel universe?". I feel the need to pose this query, again, after the declassification and release of the latest National Inelligence Estimate. Having read this document, I wonder if I have received the same estimate that those on the Right have described. They seem to beleive that this estimate is all the rationale needed to make the case for the U.S. presence in Iraq...our invasion, our prosectution of hostilities, and our plan for victory. Hello????!!!!

Yes...the NIE DOES state that a win in Iraq would demoralize jihadists, but...the honest truth is that we are NOT winning and there really is NO way TO win when fighting an insurgency in the midst of a civil war. Peter Galbraith, who has been to the region repeatedly, has made the case that this conflict is unwinnable. And, it is a no brainer that, initially, our leaving will create a vacuum. This is inevitable. Regardless of when we withdraw, there will be a power vacuum. The truth is that the U.S. NEVER intends upon fully withdrawing from Iraq. That is why we have spent literally millions of dollars to create a U.S. permanent base in Iraq. And, even at that, if and when the bulk of troops withdraw...there will STILL be a period of unrest.

The NIE clearly asserts that our entry into Iraq has led to destabilization, not only in the region, but with respect to jihadists worldwide. They state that Iraq has become the "cause celebre" for jihadists. Again...I ask...what NIE has Press Secretary Tony Snow or House Majority Leader Boehner been reading? The ability of these persons to COMPLETELY alter the gist of this statement is baffling. And, this is just the latest incident of revisionistic thinking we have seen. This administration and its crones have a habitual pattern of deceit, obfuscation and denial.

I just saw a new poll this morning of Iraqi citizens. They overwhelmingly want the U.S. to establish a time table for withdrawal and want the U.S. out within a year. The State Department's recent poll found that two thirds of Bagdad residents want the U.S. out of Iraq IMMEDIATELY. We just do not get the message. As an occupying force, we are unwelcome. The same poll just cited states that four out of five Iraqis believe that the U.S. military force provokes more violence than it prevents. 72% of Iraqis believe that the U.S. will NEVER completely withdraw and will maintain permanent bases in Iraq. These are startling statisitics but not at all surprising.

There has also been mention of a more recent NIE that the White House insists is merely a draft. But, there have been those who have alleged that a reading of the latest NIE paints an even less salutory image of U.S. efforts in Iraq, and, allegedly, asserts that, yes, this IS a civil war and no, there is no conceivable strategy to "win".

How many times must I, and every other sane blogger, make the point that this administration is practiced in the art of deceit? How many times will this administration's apologists completely ignore the truth and spin the facts 180 degrees? And, perhaps most important...how many times will we, as American citizens, allow this administration the grace to get away with their preposterous rhetoric, their never ending campaign of fear and their complete snow job of the people who elected them?

The answer should, and must, be NO MORE TIMES!!!

trickster108