EU-DIGEST

Remembering 9/11 and reflecting on General Petraeus review on Iraq

General Petraeus report on Iraq, and the fact that he based much of his assessment on the claim that violence there is dropping certainly was an excellently orchestrated PR effort. Unfortunately his optimistic statement just wasn't true.

a) According to the Washington Post, Petraeus and the Pentagon used a bizarre formula for measuring violence in Iraq. For example, deaths by car bombs don't count. Assassinations count only if you're shot in the back of the head—not in the front.

b) According to a massive new ABC/BBC poll, every single Iraqi polled in Baghdad, the primary target of the "surge," said it had made security worse. Iraqis themselves overwhelmingly think the situation in Iraq is deteriorating, in terms of security, political cooperation, the economy, and other measures. Overall, 70% think the escalation worsened rather than improved security conditions.

c) A comprehensive Government Accountability Office (GAO) report ordered by Congress found that the "average number of daily attacks against civilians have remained unchanged from February to July 2007.

d) In August, things got even worse, with civilian casualties rising according to the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times.

e) The fact is that for US troops, it has been the bloodiest summer yet. More U.S. troops have died every month this year compared to the same month last year.

General Petraeus also claimed that he compiled his report without conferring with the White House. But the Washington Post recently reported that Petraeus and his staff joined daily conference calls with the White House and former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie this summer to "map out ways of selling the surge." The Post reported that Gillespie's White House political unit was "hard-wired" to Petraeus' military unit.

Everyone would like to see life improving in Iraq. But it is not—it's getting worse! And if US forces stay in Iraq both the Americans and Iraqis will pay a terrible price.

Today is also the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history. The wounds of 9/11 are still fresh for many of us. After 9/11, President Bush used fear, lies and trumped-up intelligence to stampede the US and some of its allies into Iraq. Now, America is bogged down in an unwinnable civil war, and Al Qaeda has regained enough strength to once again menace the world.

It would be a tragic irony if, six years later, the US administration once again used cooked-up intelligence to head off the growing momentum for an exit strategy from Iraq.

Its time to stop the spin and get out of Iraq.

Labels: EU, General Petraeus, Iraq