So today, the former Iraqi PM (who was our guy) claimed that Iraq is slipping into civil war, and, to this, Cheney replied, there is no civil war, and all of this violence is only proof that the insurgents are reaching a point of desperation. In other words, we're really winning, and things are heading in a positive direction.
Do you think this administration will ever get tired of making dishonest assessments of the war? How refreshing would it be if a politician could just speak honestly and tell us the truth -- the truth that we all already know.
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White House Disputes Iraq Is Sinking Into Civil War
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Three years after the American-led invasion of Iraq, top Bush administration officials today reiterated their upbeat assessment of the American military effort and political progress in the country, insisting that the violence plaguing Iraq did not amount to civil war.
An escalation of sectarian killings since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in a city north of Baghdad last month has intensified assertions that the country is in the throes of a civil war. The latest came today from Iraq's former interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, in an interview with the BBC.
Mr. Allawi said there had been a daily average of 50 to 60 people throughout the country being killed, "if not more" in the wake of the shrine attack in Samarra.
"If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is," he said.
But Vice President Dick Cheney, asked about Mr. Allawi's remarks, disagreed and said that American military commanders on the ground in Iraq shared his view.
"I think the assessment that we get from Gen. George Casey, who's our man commanding in Iraq, from Zal Khalilzad, the ambassador, from John Abizaid, who is the general in charge of Central Command, doesn't square with that," Mr. Cheney said in an interview with the CBS News program "Face the Nation."
"Clearly there is an attempt under way by the terrorists, by Zarqawi and others, to foment civil war," he said, referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq. "That's been their strategy all along, but my view would be they've reached a stage of desperation from their standpoint."
Thousands of Iraqi civilians and military forces have been killed in insurgent attacks since the March 2003 invasion by troops from the United States and Britain as well as other nations that led to the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Almost daily images of car bombings, reports of American troops killed in roadside bombings and other attacks have dominated coverage of the war, and recently reports of dozens of bodies surfacing bound and executed in apparent revenge killings have added to the fare of violence.
Polls have been showing lower public support for the war than in years past and anemic approval ratings for President Bush.
Over the weekend, dozens of rallies have been held across the United States and around the world to protest the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, although they were far smaller than the large-scale marches that preceded the war.
American officials have pointed to the national elections in Iraq and the efforts by Iraq's Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish factions to form a government as progress in a conflict that should be viewed in the wider context of a global war on terror.
President Bush, referring to the "liberation" of Iraq twice in a brief televised statement today, said that he was urging the Iraqis to continue to work on forming a unity government.
"Today as well marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq," Mr. Bush said.
"We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come," he added.
Mr. Cheney said that the bombing of the shrine in Samarra was an attempt by terrorists to stop the formation of a democratically elected government.
"So what we've seen is a serious effort by them to foment civil war, but I don't think they've been successful," he said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said earlier this month that the United States would seek to avoid putting its forces in the middle of any civil war in Iraq and he has emphasized that America's goal was to prevent the violence from worsening into full-fledged sectarian fighting.
Mr. Rumsfeld wrote in a piece published in The Washington Post today that the fact that the Sunni Arab minority was participating in the new Iraqi government was one of the most important new developments in Iraq. He also pointed out that Iraqi political leaders themselves called for calm after the Samarra attack.
"The terrorists are determined to stoke sectarian tension and are attempting to spark a civil war," he wrote. "But despite the many acts of violence and provocation, the vast majority of Iraqis have shown that they want their country to remain whole and free of ethnic conflict."
Iraqi politicians have been working toward picking a prime minister and the newly chosen Iraqi parliament met for the first time this month.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior commander in Iraq, backed Mr. Cheney's assertion today, saying on "Fox News Sunday" that Iraq was not in the throes of civil war and that the violence in Iraq "is not necessarily widespread."
"There is sectarian tension and there is sectarian violence, but it's primarily focused in the center of the country around Baghdad," he said.
But Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, disagreed with that assessment. "I think we have had a low-grade civil war going on in Iraq, certainly the last six months, maybe the last year," he said on the ABC News program "This Week" "Our own generals have told me that."
Mr. Allawi, who heads a secular alliance, said Iraq was moving towards the "point of no return" when the country would fragment.
"It will not only fall apart but sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the U.S. will not be spared the violence that results," he said.
Do you think this administration will ever get tired of making dishonest assessments of the war? How refreshing would it be if a politician could just speak honestly and tell us the truth -- the truth that we all already know.
---------------------------
White House Disputes Iraq Is Sinking Into Civil War
By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Three years after the American-led invasion of Iraq, top Bush administration officials today reiterated their upbeat assessment of the American military effort and political progress in the country, insisting that the violence plaguing Iraq did not amount to civil war.
An escalation of sectarian killings since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in a city north of Baghdad last month has intensified assertions that the country is in the throes of a civil war. The latest came today from Iraq's former interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, in an interview with the BBC.
Mr. Allawi said there had been a daily average of 50 to 60 people throughout the country being killed, "if not more" in the wake of the shrine attack in Samarra.
"If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is," he said.
But Vice President Dick Cheney, asked about Mr. Allawi's remarks, disagreed and said that American military commanders on the ground in Iraq shared his view.
"I think the assessment that we get from Gen. George Casey, who's our man commanding in Iraq, from Zal Khalilzad, the ambassador, from John Abizaid, who is the general in charge of Central Command, doesn't square with that," Mr. Cheney said in an interview with the CBS News program "Face the Nation."
"Clearly there is an attempt under way by the terrorists, by Zarqawi and others, to foment civil war," he said, referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq. "That's been their strategy all along, but my view would be they've reached a stage of desperation from their standpoint."
Thousands of Iraqi civilians and military forces have been killed in insurgent attacks since the March 2003 invasion by troops from the United States and Britain as well as other nations that led to the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Almost daily images of car bombings, reports of American troops killed in roadside bombings and other attacks have dominated coverage of the war, and recently reports of dozens of bodies surfacing bound and executed in apparent revenge killings have added to the fare of violence.
Polls have been showing lower public support for the war than in years past and anemic approval ratings for President Bush.
Over the weekend, dozens of rallies have been held across the United States and around the world to protest the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, although they were far smaller than the large-scale marches that preceded the war.
American officials have pointed to the national elections in Iraq and the efforts by Iraq's Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish factions to form a government as progress in a conflict that should be viewed in the wider context of a global war on terror.
President Bush, referring to the "liberation" of Iraq twice in a brief televised statement today, said that he was urging the Iraqis to continue to work on forming a unity government.
"Today as well marks the third anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Iraq," Mr. Bush said.
"We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq. And a victory in Iraq will make this country more secure and will help lay the foundation of peace for generations to come," he added.
Mr. Cheney said that the bombing of the shrine in Samarra was an attempt by terrorists to stop the formation of a democratically elected government.
"So what we've seen is a serious effort by them to foment civil war, but I don't think they've been successful," he said.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said earlier this month that the United States would seek to avoid putting its forces in the middle of any civil war in Iraq and he has emphasized that America's goal was to prevent the violence from worsening into full-fledged sectarian fighting.
Mr. Rumsfeld wrote in a piece published in The Washington Post today that the fact that the Sunni Arab minority was participating in the new Iraqi government was one of the most important new developments in Iraq. He also pointed out that Iraqi political leaders themselves called for calm after the Samarra attack.
"The terrorists are determined to stoke sectarian tension and are attempting to spark a civil war," he wrote. "But despite the many acts of violence and provocation, the vast majority of Iraqis have shown that they want their country to remain whole and free of ethnic conflict."
Iraqi politicians have been working toward picking a prime minister and the newly chosen Iraqi parliament met for the first time this month.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior commander in Iraq, backed Mr. Cheney's assertion today, saying on "Fox News Sunday" that Iraq was not in the throes of civil war and that the violence in Iraq "is not necessarily widespread."
"There is sectarian tension and there is sectarian violence, but it's primarily focused in the center of the country around Baghdad," he said.
But Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, disagreed with that assessment. "I think we have had a low-grade civil war going on in Iraq, certainly the last six months, maybe the last year," he said on the ABC News program "This Week" "Our own generals have told me that."
Mr. Allawi, who heads a secular alliance, said Iraq was moving towards the "point of no return" when the country would fragment.
"It will not only fall apart but sectarianism will spread throughout the region, and even Europe and the U.S. will not be spared the violence that results," he said.