WORLD TRENDS / » archive
article: 1
| 2 |
3 | 4
| 5 |
6 | 7
| 8 |
9 | 10
| 11
| 12
| 13 | 14
An Offering of Detail But No New Substance
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 1, 2005; A01
Thirty-two months after U.S. forces invaded Iraq,
President Bush's advisers concluded that his message
of "stay the course" has been translated
by a weary American public as "stay forever."
And so yesterday the president tried to reassure
the nation that he has a comprehensive vision for
beating the insurgency and eventually bringing U.S.
troops home.
The message was hardly subtle as the White House
posted a 35-page "National Strategy for Victory
in Iraq" on its Web site and hung dozens of
"Plan for Victory" signs behind Bush as
he addressed midshipmen in Annapolis. But it was
intended to reshape the argument against critics
who have been gaining traction with congressional
calls to withdraw troops immediately or at least
set a timetable for pulling out.
Instead of sticking to general statements of resolve
as in the past, Bush offered specific examples of
what he called progress in building an Iraqi army
that can take over the fight from U.S. troops. And
in a rare move for a president loath to admit mistakes,
he admitted some without ever using the word, granting
that "we've faced some setbacks" and that
"we learned from our early experiences."
But broadly Bush gave no ground to critics who want
a major course change, and the plan he released
yesterday offered nothing new substantively. Short
of changing conditions on the ground, Bush faces
enormous challenges in turning around public attitudes
on the war. The American people have grown increasingly
sour on Iraq in public polls, and most no longer
approve of the way the president is handling the
war.
"That's the trick for the president -- he has
to turn around public opinion when he's at a low
point in the polls," said John Weaver, a political
strategist for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "What
they've got to do is win this argument and correct
the misinformation that's out there about what's
going on in Iraq and do so while leveling with the
American people that it's going to be a long, hard
slog."
The latest speech won Bush few converts in Washington,
with opposition leaders rushing out critiques, in
some cases even before he had finished speaking
in Annapolis. "The president was basically
repackaging things and saying everything's fine
when every day we read that things are not fine,"
said former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright.
"I so wish I could believe him. I like to believe
an American president. But he's got such a credibility
issue."
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), the senior Democrat
on the Foreign Relations Committee, offered a more
measured response, calling Bush's remarks a "positive
step." "The president did a better job
laying out where we are and where we're trying to
go in Iraq," Biden said in a statement, "but
failed to tell us how or when we're going to get
there."
The debate in Washington has evolved sharply in
the past few weeks after the U.S. military death
toll topped 2,000. While Bush traveled through Asia
for trade and security talks, Congress engaged in
its most robust debates on the war since voting
to authorize the use of force in October 2002. Bush
and Vice President Cheney launched a sharp counterattack
on critics, accusing them of demoralizing troops
and wanting to "surrender to terrorists."
Now back from Asia and a Thanksgiving sojourn in
Texas, Bush intends a sustained defense of his Iraq
policy in the weeks leading up to the Dec. 15 parliamentary
elections there, starting with yesterday's speech
and continuing with at least two and perhaps three
more. He dropped the acrid rhetoric yesterday and
professed that "we should not fear the debate
in Washington. It's one of the great strengths of
our democracy that we can discuss our differences
openly and honestly even at times of war."
He summoned a leading Democrat to his own defense,
citing an op-ed article opposing timetables for
withdrawal that was written by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman
(Conn.), who ran for vice president on the ticket
opposing Bush in 2000 and lost his bid for the party's
presidential nomination to challenge Bush in 2004.
In doing so, the White House hoped to turn the tables
on the Democrats. "What it does is highlight
a split within the Democratic Party," said
a senior official who spoke on the condition of
anonymity.
Privately, though, officials acknowledge that they
have failed to communicate their message to the
public.
"We haven't put it out there in a fashion that
has sunk in," said a second official who was
not authorized to speak on the record. Advisers
were struck by polls showing that a sizable share
of the public did not think Bush had a plan for
victory in Iraq. "There's a sense that the
public does not have a good understanding of what
our strategy is and is confused about the level
of progress we've made."
Administration officials believe much of the public
is still eager for victory and open to persuasion
if the president can make the case that he has made
progress. They took heart in a survey last week
by RT Strategies, a bipartisan polling firm, that
found that 49 percent of Americans favor bringing
troops home when only "specific goals and objectives"
are met, 30 percent want a fixed timetable for pulling
out and 16 percent support immediate withdrawal.
The middle 30 percent, they figure, is the real
political battleground.
Thomas Riehle, a Democrat who runs RT along with
Republican V. Lance Tarrance Jr., said many Americans
are suspicious of war critics as well as the war.
"What is shifting is the sense that the military
and White House do not have a good plan to proceed
to victory or troop withdrawal," Riehle said
in an e-mail. At the same time, he said, the Democrats
"don't seem to be in a position to drive opinion
. . . where Bush is vulnerable."
Amid such skepticism, Bush has retreated to mainly
military settings to defend his policy. Yesterday's
speech at the U.S. Naval Academy was his fourth
before a military audience in three weeks.
But in subtle ways, he and the administration are
adjusting the message to reflect Iraq realities.
No longer are they declaring that the insurgency
is in its "last throes," as Cheney did
last spring. Instead, they emphasize in their new
strategy document that "it is not realistic
to expect a fully functioning democracy, able to
defeat its enemies" to be built in three years.
And Bush acknowledged yesterday what U.S. military
and intelligence experts have said for months, that
terrorists make up the smallest group opposing coalition
forces and that "ordinary Iraqis, mostly Sunni
Arabs" represent "by far the largest group."
W. Patrick Lang, a former Defense Intelligence Agency
expert on Iraqi affairs, said that Bush's language
"changes the frame of reference," because
the president acknowledged "for the first time
this is essentially an Iraqi insurrection."
Lang said Bush's previous emphasis on the foreign
makeup of the insurgency "made it impossible
for U.S. forces to deal with the enemy because we
needed to defeat them totally." Now, Lang suggested,
U.S. military officers have room to try to work
out deals with Iraqi opposition fighters.
Staff writers Robin Wright and Walter Pincus contributed
to this report.
|
 |
|
 |
 |
Sources: Thousands of Turkish troops enter Iraq
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials said.... |
 |
Could an al-Qaeda Attack Trigger War With Iran?
Following revelations of a George W. Bush administration policy to hold Iran responsible for any al-Qaeda attack on the U.S. that could be portrayed as planned on Iranian soil... |
|
U.S. doubles air attacks in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Four years into the war that opened with "shock and awe," U.S. warplanes have again stepped up attacks in Iraq , dropping bombs at more than twice the rate of a year ago. ... |
|
NPR interviews Dahr Jamail on State of Iraq Hospitals
The five minute interview with Michelle Norris is a good one. However, if the NPR show were true to its title, "All Things Considered"... |
|
Bipartisan panel urges agencies to order civilians to Iraq
With the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating," the United States must begin the process of shifting troops out of the country, members of a bipartisan panel said Wednesday... |
|
Sunnis Reject
Early Iraq Election Results, Calling for Inquiry
BAGHDAD,
Iraq, Dec. 20 - Sunni Arab leaders angrily rejected early election
results on Tuesday, saying the vote had been fixed in... |
|
Dispelling
Myths About Iraq
The
bruising debate over U.S. Iraq policy often seems to stray far from
the reality on the ground inside Iraq. Although Iraq’s progress
... |
|
Iraqis Glad
2005 Over, Dim Hopes for 2006
*BAGHDAD,
Dec 20 (IPS) - Despite the parliamentary elections last week
and temporary ease in violence ... |
|
Religious Groups
Take Early Lead in Iraqi Ballots
BAGHDAD,
Iraq, Dec. 19 - Early voting results announced by Iraqi electoral
officials on Monday, with nearly two-thirds of the ballots ... |
|
David Brooks:
Taking a long view of the Iraq conflict
WASHINGTON
Over the past few years, the Iraq war has morphed from a war of liberation
against Saddam Hussein into a civil conflict between Sunnis and Shiites
... |
|
Yosfiya: The
21st Century Nazis Are Here
Weary
of the overall failure of the US media to accurately report on the
realities of the war in Iraq for the Iraqi people and US soldiers,
Dahr Jamail went to Iraq to report on the war himself... |
|
U.S. Is Said
to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers
WASHINGTON,
Nov. 30 - Titled "The Sands Are Blowing Toward a Democratic Iraq,"
an article written this week for publication in the Iraqi press was
scornful of outsiders' pessimism about the country's future... |
|
 |
N. Korea warns of nuclear war if attacked
North Korea will respond to a pre-emptive U.S. military attack with an "annihilating strike and a nuclear war," the state-run media said Monday, heightening its antagonistic rhetoric.... |
|
Israel says no negotiations on soldier
Palestinian militants holding an Israeli soldier gave Israel less than 24 hours Monday to start releasing 1,500 Palestinian prisoners ... |
|
In the Shadow
of Sharon
IT
is too early to assess Ariel Sharon's legacy. To be sure, he will
be remembered as one of Israel's great field commanders, the wily,
bulldozing general ... |
|
The New Red,
White and Blue
As
we enter 2006, we find ourselves in trouble, at home and abroad. We
are in trouble because we are led by defeatists - wimps, actually... |
|
Life After
Ariel Sharon
When
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced two months ago that he was leaving
the right-wing Likud Party, which he had embodied for three decades... |
|
Administration
Cites War Vote in Spying Case
WASHINGTON,
Dec. 19 - President Bush and two of his most senior aides argued Monday
that the highly ... |
|
Austrian presidency
will not press for EU constitution
EUOBSERVER
/ BRUSSELS - Austrian foreign minister Ursula Plassnik has indicated
that her country's incoming six-month EU... |
|
DEFINING THE
AMERICAN INTEREST
The
American Interest (AI) is a new and independent voice devoted to the
broad theme of "America in the world." Our agenda is threefold.
The first is to analyze America's... |
|
THE AMAZING
BUBBLE-MAN
Alan
Greenspan is the great guru of the American economy, the spell-master
over the fortunes of multitudes the world over. Chairman of... |
|
US DEPARTMENT
OF STATE RELEASED A PRESS STATEMENT ABOUT U.S.-IZRAEL STRATEGIC DIALOGUE
On
November 28, 2005, the United States and Israel conducted a strategic
dialogue led by Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns
and Minister of Jerusalem... |
|
An Offering
of Detail But No New Substance
Thirty-two
months after U.S. forces invaded Iraq, President Bush's advisers concluded
that his message of "stay the course" has been translated by a weary
American public as "stay forever." And so yesterday the president
tried to reassure the nation... |
|
9/11 Commissioners
Fault Administration
WASHINGTON
-- Reviewing action on recommendations it made last year, the Sept.
11 commission on Monday criticized the Bush administration for not
adopting standards for treatment of captured terror suspects... |
|
US
refuses to rule out use of torture
THE
White House has refused to rule out the use of torture in an effort
to prevent a major terrorist attack, arguing the war on terror could
present a "difficult dilemma" and the US administration
was duty-bound to protect the American people... |
|
American
Majority Says Bush Misled on Iraq
(Angus
Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in the United States are questioning
their president’s motives to launch the coalition effort, according
to a poll by Hart/McInturff released by the Wall Street Journal... |
|
 |
EU opens door to hidden TV adverts
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – More frequent commercial breaks as well as product placements, ... |
|
EU states under fire for red tape on foreign workers
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is set next week to present a report criticising ... |
|
There is too much hyperbole over the EU consitutional treaty
EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - I am getting increasingly fed up with those who qualify the Constitutional Treaty as a "radical new departure" ... |
|
Brussels asks Helsinki to push for stronger EU in criminal matters
The European Commission has renewed calls to boost EU powers in criminal matters as well as increase the role of ... |
|
MEPs shelve prickly anti-fraud debate, again
The European Parliament has for the third time postponed a plenary debate on ... |
|
Frattini calls for national search into CIA flights and prisons
EU justice comissioner Franco Frattini has urged national prosecutors and judges ... |
|
EU praises Bush for wanting 'end' to Guantanamo
The EU has welcomed US president George W. Bush's statements on ending the Guantanamo ... |
|
This WEEK in the European Union
EUOBSERVER / WEEKLY AGENDA (2-9 July) This week will be the first in office for the Finnish EU presidency. ... |
|
EU troops kill
wife of Bosnian war crimes suspect
The
wife of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Dragomir Abazovic was shot
to death in a gun battle as EU troops stormed the couple's house ... |
|
Bird flu kills
third child in Turkey
Avian
influenza has cost the life of a third child in Eastern Turkey, raising
fears that the deadly strain of the so-called bird flu virus could
spread ... |
|
EU draws up
Adriatic gas plan after Russia-Ukraine fiasco
The
EU might build a new gas pipeline on the Adriatic Sea coast in order... |
|
Slovak-Vatican
abortion deal criticised by EU experts
Slovakia
has been challenged by EU legal experts over an agreement with the
Vatican... |
|
Commissioner
proposes constitution cherry-picking
French
commissioner Jacques Barrot has proposed that single elements of the
EU constitution be taken out in a bid to save the charter... |
|
Blair takes
hits on EU budget deal
British
prime minister Tony Blair, defending the deal on EU’s budget
in front of the House of Commons... |
|
Italian bank
chief resigns
Italian
Central Bank governor Antonio Fazio resigned yesterday after the Italian
government had announced... |
|
WTO fallout
expected
Polish
experts say the WTO deal could harm EU exporters of milk, sugar, beef
and grain leading to oversupply... |
|
Austria to
revive constitution chat
Austria
plans to revive the EU constitution debate and plough ahead with Turkey
accession talks under its incoming... |
|
EU threatens
to cut Palestine funds if Hamas wins
The
EU's exterior relations chief Javier Solana will stop EU funding for
Palestine if Hamas wins the Palestinian elections saying... |
|
Ukraine snubbed
in Russia gas row
Ukraine
prime minister Yuri Yekhanourov flew to Moscow for gas price talks
but came back with nothing as Russia... |
|
Serbian grip
on Kosovo weakening
Less
and less people in Serbia and on an international level support the
idea of a Serbian Kosovo, Le Figaro writes... |
|
New Baltic
gas pipeline scheme
Finland
and Estonia are talking about building a gas pipeline linking... |
|
Germany to
cooperate with Italy
German
chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday visited Italian prime minister
Silvio Berlusconi amid promises... |
|
Turkey pressed
to stop blocking EU-NATO meetings
EUOBSERVER
/ BRUSSELS - Turkey has come under increased pressure to stop blocking
strategic meetings between the EU and NATO... |
|
Slovaks
voting on design of euro coins
EUOBSERVER
/ BRUSSELS - Slovak citizens are voting on the country's future eurocoin
designs, with a possibility... |
|
Bosnian
leaders in Brussels for US-led constitution talks
Bosnian
political leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss a reform of their
country’s constitution, on the basis of a draft... |
|
Polish
government deepens eurosceptic ties
The
new Polish government secured parliamentary backing on Thursday (10
November) but some fear mounting tension with Brussels in store... |
|
Estonian
foreign minister denied entry visa to Russia
Russia
has refused to give the Estonian foreign minister an entry visa, sparking
a diplomatic row with Tallinn... |
|
Ex-commissioner
Edith Cresson may lose EU pension
EUOBSERVER
/ BRUSSELS - The European Commission has called for the suspension
of EU pension rights for former French prime minister... |
|
Letters
to commissioners to go public in EU transparency drive
EUOBSERVER
/ BRUSSELS - The European Commission has adopted today (9 November)
a controversial "transparency initiative."... |
|
|
