The media, in conjunction with the Democrats, started their offensive against the surge in Iraq with the leaked draft of the GAO's report on political progress in Iraq last week. It's continued unabated so far this week. But they're getting sloppy, publishing two stories today which are demonstrably false.
The first is an Associated Press story that attempts to portray a group in Iraq as a real opposition party engaged in a civil war: Sunni Insurgent Group Names Education Minister in Bid to Oppose Iraqi Government. The problem with the story is the group portrayed, the Islamic State of Iraq, has already been shown to be just a front group for Al Qaida. The leader quoted in the article, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, is fictional. As these facts have been previously reported on by the mainstream media just this past July, this sort of propaganda by the AP is unforgivable.
The second is a laughable story in the New York Times, Envoy's Letter Counters Bush on Dismantling of Iraq Army. In an attempt to discredit President Bush, the author of the article states that a recent quote of Bush claiming that the United States' original plan was not to disband the Iraqi Army was wrong -- and he has the memos from Paul Bremer to prove it!
This is only a little more difficult to fisk, because you have to go all the way back to media reports right after the invasion to disprove it. Retired Lt. General Jay Garner was the man originally charged with rebuilding Iraq. He, along with everyone else, thought that once Saddam fell the Iraqi Army would surrender en masse to Coalition troops, much as they did in Kuwait a decade earlier. Garner would then take those troops, start paying them, and use them for reconstruction and security alongside coalition forces. The problem was that the Iraqi Army never surrendered - they just disbanded and ran away. Slowed but not undeterred, Garner later sought out some of the leaders of the Iraqi Army to see if they could get their troops organized again and working for Iraq.
It was at that time that the CIA and the State Department's man, former diplomat Paul Bremer, replaced Garner as envoy. His assistant, Walter Slocombe (formerly undersecretary for policy at the Pentagon under the Clinton Administration), was the architect of the "disband the Iraqi Army" decree. Bremer then announced the policy in "Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2". They never consulted Garner, nor any other military official, as to the potential downside of that decision.
So, contrary to the New York Times, the original plan was, in fact, not to disband the Iraqi Army, just as President Bush claimed. This is pretty easy fact-checking stuff. But if you're interested in putting out propaganda rather than journalism...
Hot Topics
2008 Contenders
Hot Issues
Resources
Don't Believe the Media on Iraq, Either
Most Recent Comments
Politics Video
HST protest
Native HST protest snarls Toronto trafficSmitherman to run for Toronto mayor
Smitherman to run for Toronto mayorRebagliati will run
Snowboarder Rebagliati slides into politicsMiller won't seek 3rd term as Toronto mayor
Miller won't seek 3rd term as Toronto mayorSec. Sebelius Answers Politics Daily's Reader's Questions
Politics Daily's Patricia Murphy sits down with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to ask PoliticsDaily.com's reader's questions.
President 2008 |
Democrats |
Republicans |
President Bush |
Iraq War |
News Bloggers |
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. "So, contrary to the New York Times, the original plan was, in fact, not to disband the Iraqi Army, just as President Bush claimed." (Patrick Casey)
Was the Iraqi Army disbanded? Yes.
"The original plan was this and that......"
End results are what count.
vegastracon at 6:26PM on Sep 4th 2007
2. um....ok.....sure Casey....whatever you say.....
for SENSIBLE political commentary & blogs, visit:
http://www.politidose.com/
Patrick at 6:45PM on Sep 4th 2007
3. Dispite Phil Bailey's belief our 9 to 1 liberal bias media is "timid" and "compliant" they are in fact working hard to discredit the upcoming Petraeus report with a flurry of 'How can we trust THEM when..(insert picked nit)' "news" stories.
Harry "White Flag" Reid and many others sold many we were losing in Iraq. Then when positive news starts drifting out of Iraq they switch to the Iraqi government is falling apart and they call for al-Maliki's ouster. Al-Maliki responds to Hillary, among others, so they back off that to the benchmarks; anything to paint Iraq as a failure to voters.
The latest "news" is a 4 year old story on who said what about an army that melted away when we thought they may surrender in mass as they did in 1991.
Or we can pick from a discredited "news" story being rehashed to the 'I don't know were the U.S. or Iraq is because some people don't have maps' crowd who may believe it.
In 2004 the infamous 355,000 dead in Iraq number was circulated just before the election. Now Tim Robbins pulls 400,000 out of his buttocks just before the Petraeus report.
March 2003 to Sept 2007 = 53 months
400,000 divided by 53 = 7547
7547 divided by 30 = 251
Did you see 251 people reported killed in Iraq on the news last night? Me neither.
I did see terrorists 'give a gift' of rockets in an attempt to kill Israeli kindergarten children on their first day of school last night.
These "news" stories are simply Democratic chaff to obscure the positive Petreaus report since good news from Iraq is "a big problem for us" in 08.
Pete at 9:06PM on Sep 4th 2007
4. Nice to see the truth but the liberals have
been fed so many lies, will they believe
the truth when it is put in their face? No!
For instance one of their former news men
who went over board printing open lies
even when he knew they were. He said even
though he knew they were not truths, he
stilled believed them. He had to go by,
by and is no more, at least in the news
room.
When will we see these who are pushing
false news go by the way side? The surge
is working and the Democrats are frantic
to make it look bleak but look at the
ones we were fighting us, are now
fighting with us against Al Queida.
When the Iraqi people see it is the ones
in Iran who are selling weapons to the
terrorists to kill both Sunni and Shiite
Muslims, then we will see less of what is
called sectarian violence.
Actually most of what the liberal left
press called sectarian violence was the
terrorists dressing as Sunni killing
Shiite, then dressing as Shiite to kill
Sunni's. A civil was is one fought by
different sides but the war in Iraq has
mostly been outsiders trying to get the
two fighting and that is not civil war
but terrorism.
Can't the left see they are playing into
the politics of the terrorists and the
Iranians just as they did in Vietnam. The
end result from pulling out was over 1
million innocent (western loving men,
women and children) killed leaving in
their place terrorists scum just like now.
We pull out and the ones that are friendly
to us die, and the liberal press does not
care how many innocents die as long as
they get the white house. Scarry but true!
William Ehlert at 11:52PM on Sep 4th 2007
5. I am being fed lies right now.
David McCool at 9:38AM on Sep 5th 2007
6. That's right, don't believe the media -- instead, believe gutless chickenhawks like Patrick Casey who love this war, but prefer to do the cheering while leaving the fighting and dying to others. Check Casey's background, and you will discover that he served his country by building golf courses in New England. In other words, while Bremer was actually there, the closest Patrick ever got to Iraq was a sandtrap.
Richter at 11:12AM on Sep 5th 2007
7. Repukes can't handle the truth. The truth is your policies have screwed things up big time. Most Americans are sick of you. Your power is fading fast. You put your trust in an incompetent fool and now we all pay. There will be dancing in the streets Jan 09, when repukes lose the presidency and congress. Only bin Laden will be sad. He knows that is days will be numbered.
John at 2:15PM on Sep 5th 2007
8. William Ehlert fantasizes: "Actually most of what the liberal left press called sectarian violence was the terrorists dressing as Sunni killing Shiite, then dressing as Shiite to kill Sunni's."
Well, Billy, I think we can all agree that you have just won, now and forever, the distinction of writing far and away the single wackiest comment on the war in Iraq... actually, the single wackiest comment I have ever read anywhere.
Folks, from time to time Billy says he was in Vietnam. Keep this post in mind whenever he repeats that claim. In the meantime, Bill, I urge you to come down with a case of severe schizophrenia -- in your case, it can only make you MORE sane.
Richter at 4:29PM on Sep 5th 2007