Interim Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi parroted Karl Rove's script today. And the
New York Times ate it up. Allawi's words:
They are becoming more deadly because we think they are getting more desperate.
That's speaking of the insurgents, of course. And it would almost make sense -- if the Bush administration hadn't been saying the same thing since the war began. Surely, if increases in violence meant we were close to winning a year ago, we'd have won by now?
This isn't brain surgery, folks. It's PR. And I'd just like once for a reporter to point out how long this spin point has been floating around. Much more below the fold.
A Brief History of the Bush "Failure Is Victory" Doctrine
This is the behavior of desperate men. Iraqi authorities know their days are numbered. And while the Iraqi regime is on the way out, it's important to know that it can still be brutal, particularly in the moments before it finally succumbs. This campaign could well grow more dangerous in the coming days and weeks as coalition forces close on Baghdad and the regime is faced with its certain death.
(Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, March 25, 2003)
I think these people are the last remnants of a dying cause.
(Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, on "dead-enders," June 18, 2003)
Every sign of progress in Iraq adds to the desperation of the terrorists and the remnants of Saddam's brutal regime.
(George W. Bush, Aug. 19, 2003)
This progress makes the remaining terrorists even more desperate and willing to lash out.
(George W. Bush, Aug. 23, 2003)
The more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become.
(George W. Bush, Aug. 26, 2003)
You have some remnants -- you have remnants of a regime that we removed, that was an oppressive regime, that is desperate -- more and more desperate every single day, because of the progress we are making on many fronts in Afghanistan.
(Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Sept. 17, 2003)
The more progress we make, the more desperate the holdouts of Saddam Hussein's regime and foreign terrorists become.
(Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Oct. 14, 2003)
The more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity that's available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become.
(George W. Bush, Oct. 27, 2003)
The more progress we make, the more desperate they tend to become.
(Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Nov. 10, 2003)
As democracy takes hold in Iraq, the enemies of freedom will do all in their power to spread violence and fear.
(George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 20, 2004)
The closer we come to passing sovereignty, the more likely it is that foreign fighters, disgruntled Baathists or friends of the Shia cleric will try to stop progress.
(George W. Bush, April 28, 2004)
[Our enemies] know that time is against them, and their only chance is to shake the resolve of Iraqis, Americans, anybody else who loves freedom. And that's why their actions have grown more cruel and sadistic. (George W. Bush, July 4, 2004)
The bad guys, the army of the darkness, are getting more helpless and hopeless. That's why they are stepping up these things. (Iraqi president Ghazi al-Yawer, July 3-, 2004
I'm sure there are other examples, as well. When will we get a strategy for winning that doesn't involve losing? How desperate will these killers have to become before the administration finds a new line?
Better yet, when will our nation's highest-paid reporters start paying attention?
- Marc
http://whopundit.blogspot.com