As Bush Prepares for 'Surge' Address Tonight: Here Is What He Promised in January Speech

[babylonsister]

As Bush Prepares for 'Surge' Address Tonight: Here Is What He Promised in January Speech

By E&P Staff

Published: September 13, 2007 11:20 AM ET

NEW YORK With President Bush reportedly ready to endorse a full continuation of the "surge" in Iraq through next summer in a speech to the nation tonight, a look back at what he promised in his address last January might prove illuminating, especially concerning "benchmarks."

The president said then, "I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this....

"To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution."

None of this happened.

A fact sheet released by the White House at the same time stated:

"The Government of Iraq commits to:

--Reform its cabinet to provide even-handed service delivery.
--Act on promised reconciliation initiatives (oil law, de-Baathification law, Provincial elections).
--Give Coalition and ISF authority to pursue ALL extremists.
--All Iraqi leaders support reconciliation.
--Moderate coalition emerges as strong base of support for unity government."

Excerpts from the Bush speech on Jan. 10, 2007, follow.

more...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003639940

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. Now youre just being....

nitpicky.:sarcasm: :rofl: