Memo to the Community on Iraq

[arsbanned]

While the Right struggles to discredit Cindy Sheehan by questioning her sanity and hurling insults at her (misogynistic? I think so), the REAL insanity going on in the World continues to be Bush's misguided, unnecessary and foolish war in Iraq.

President Bush and his followers have now launched a full-scale defense of his policy in Iraq and a full-on assault on his detractors. And yet their weapon of choice is spin, not strategy. Listening to the president speak about Iraq this week, one had the feeling that he must be living in a parallel universe. Is he unwilling to level with the American people about the cold reality that is Iraq today? Or is he unaware of the minefield he has walked the country into?

Link to story by John Podesta

MEMORANDUM TO THE PRESIDENT From: White House Iraq Group (WHIG) Date: August 25, 2005 RE: Challenges Ahead in Iraq To supplement the daily Iraq briefings you are receiving in Crawford, we wanted to offer a broader overview on where we stand and the challenges ahead in Iraq. While our public message presents the most positive perspective on our gains in Iraq, there are multiple challenges that we must acknowledge and manage. These include: ? Growing human and economic costs of the Iraq war; ? Weakened and overstretched ground forces; ? Increasing national security threats from global terrorist networks; ? A deteriorating security situation in Iraq; ? Stalled reconstruction and economic development in Iraq; ? Rising probability of sectarian strife in Iraq; and ? Escalating instability in the Persian Gulf region.

Link to Memo the President should see (pdf)