A Look at Bush's Assertions About Iraq: AP fact-checks the speech

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT/AP: A Look at Bush's Assertions About Iraq
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 13, 2007

....BUSH SAID:

''Anbar province is a good example of how our strategy is working,'' Bush said, noting that just last year U.S. intelligence analysts had written off the Sunni area as ''lost to al-Qaida.''

FACT CHECK:

Early Thursday, the most prominent figure in a U.S.-backed revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq was killed by a bomb planted near his home. The killing of a chief Anbar ally hours before Bush spoke showed the tenuous and changeable nature of success in Anbar and Iraq at large....

BUSH SAID:

Progress in Iraq, including improvement in the performance of the Iraqi army, led to Petraeus' recommendation that ''we have now reached the point where we can maintain our security gains with fewer American forces.'' Bush said there is still work to be done to improve the Iraqi national police.

FACT CHECK:

A new White House report on Iraq shows slim progress, moving just one more political and security goal into the satisfactory column. Efforts to let former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party rejoin the political process earned the upgrade, a senior administration official told The Associated Press....

BUSH SAID:

Bush noted that the government has not met its own legislative benchmarks, but he pointed to limited political progress among Iraq's national leaders. He said Iraq has passed a budget and is sharing oil wealth.

FACT CHECK:

The General Accountability Office reported last month that Iraq has only partially met a test involving reformation of its budget process, although the State Department, Pentagon and White House disputed the finding. Some proceeds from Iraq's vast oil and gas resources are being shared among regions, but the country lacks a national framework agreement for the distribution of oil revenues....

BUSH SAID:

''We thank the 36 nations who have troops on the ground in Iraq and the many others who are helping that young democracy.''

FACT CHECK:

There may well be 36 nations contributing to the cause, but the overwhelming majority of troops come from the United States. For example, Albania has 120 soldiers there and Bulgaria has 150 non-combat troops in Iraq. Bush visited both nations this summer as a thank you.

The United States has 168,000 troops in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-US-Iraq-Fact-Check.html

[frogcycle]

1. But don't forget the Austrian troops

[DeepModem Mom]

2. LOL! From "down under." nt

[TankLV]

3. Don't forget POLAND!!!!

[DeepModem Mom]

4. a.m. kick

[PA Democrat]

5. A big kick for the TRUTH