The Washington post (and others) are carrying a PDF file that is a memo from the US Embassy in Baghdad dated June 6.
In the memo, many of the things reported by River (baghdad burning) and others is repeated: ethnic cleansing, rival factions at all levels of government, sectarian tensions, one hour of electricity for every six hours without, visible deterioration of even the best neighborhoods, discrimination against women, standing in line for hours for basic necessities like gasoline, etc.
Meanwhile, from the president’s radio address:
I traveled to Baghdad to personally show our Nation’s commitment to a free Iraq, because it is vital for the Iraqi people to know with certainty that America will not abandon them after we have come this far. The challenges that remain in Iraq are serious.
How far have we come, really? Isn’t it time to try something new, instead of keeping the old puppets doing the same old dance?
(and for reference, here is the Iraq embassy memo June 6 )
It is amazing, “how far we have come,” isn’t it? Every photo-op is the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel,” and virtually every day, the insurgency is “in disarray,” or “in their last throws,” or some other inane cliche.
It would seem that everybody, (except some 30% of U.S. citizens who I guess will believe him no matter what) has just tuned him out as nothing but a snake-oil salesman. There is no validity in anything the man says any longer.
Of course, he doesn’t really care anymore because he has no intentions of removing our troops from Iraq, rather leaving that task to “future Presidents” so he will not need to ever concende that we indeed never quite reached, “Mission Accomplished.”