by Kagro X
Froomkin, WaPo:
QUOTE
It seems almost inconceivable: The White House actually invites the press corps to hold it accountable -- but when the time comes, and a key benchmark is missed, the press is silent.
And yet that's exactly what has happened.
Back in January, when President Bush announced that in spite of the public opinion against the war in Iraq he was going to send in more troops, he repeatedly insisted that what was different this time was that the Iraqis were finally serious about stepping up.
And yet that's exactly what has happened.
Back in January, when President Bush announced that in spite of the public opinion against the war in Iraq he was going to send in more troops, he repeatedly insisted that what was different this time was that the Iraqis were finally serious about stepping up.
QUOTE
"You're going to have to -- you're going to have some opportunities to judge very quickly," one senior administration official said at an official background briefing on January 10, a few hours before Bush's prime-time announcement.
"The Iraqis are going to have three brigades within Baghdad within a little more than a month. They have committed to trying to get one brigade in, I think, by the first of February, and two more by the 15th," the official said.
"So people are going to be able to see pretty quickly that the Iraqis are or are not stepping up. And that provides the ability to judge."
"The Iraqis are going to have three brigades within Baghdad within a little more than a month. They have committed to trying to get one brigade in, I think, by the first of February, and two more by the 15th," the official said.
"So people are going to be able to see pretty quickly that the Iraqis are or are not stepping up. And that provides the ability to judge."
QUOTE
But at a Pentagon press conference yesterday, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Peter Pace acknowledged that only two of those three Iraqi brigades are there: "You've got two of the Iraqi brigades in -- that were going to plussed up in Baghdad in Baghdad now. The third one is moving this month," Pace said.
Other press reports suggest that even those two brigades are not anywhere near full strength.
And action in Baghdad seems thus far to be almost entirely led by Americans, in stark contrast to what was promised.
Other press reports suggest that even those two brigades are not anywhere near full strength.
And action in Baghdad seems thus far to be almost entirely led by Americans, in stark contrast to what was promised.
Why do so many Americans, across the political spectrum, oppose this escalation?
Some oppose it because they opposed the war from the beginning. Others oppose it only now, because they know the "administration" is lying to them, and cannot be trusted to deliver anything, anywhere as promised, and they're damn well tired of it.
And yet...
Invite the press to follow you around, as Gary Hart famously did, to see if you're having an affair, and they'll pull an all-night stakeout to hold you accountable.
Invite the press to hold you accountable for your four-year-old abomination of a war and the possible deaths of hundreds if not thousands more American troops, then give them specific benchmarks with which to do it, and you get... crickets.
Sound familiar?
Clinton's zipper? "Yes, please!"
Domestic spying? Torture? Intentional destruction of America's intelligence community? "No thanks, moonbats."
Tell us again why Serious and Important People trust your product, and aren't defecting in record numbers to online sources?