Our military effort in the Mideast actually benefits the radical Islamic factions more than anyone else.
Osama is using our military resources, blood and dollars, to his own end. In the wake of the 911 attacks on the US, Iraq has successfully united the world against us, and created enormous division among the American people.
In a second Bush term, the Islamists will target us directly, both psychologically and physically, imo. A second term will be used to further divide us and terror on US soil is likely. The increased instability we've created in the Mideast provides a welcomed opportunity for the Islamic Imperialists.
Osama must be very pleased.
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Still the propaganda flows:
Republicans tout successes in Iraq war
WASHINGTON - Republicans and military leaders tried to spotlight 'the under-reported successes' in Iraq as Democrats criticised President George W. Bush, a day after the American death toll there topped 1,000.
While polls show most Iraqis want United States forces out, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee heard from five former commanders in Iraq who said the vast majority of Iraqis they encountered welcomed the US-led occupation.
'Acts of kindness both from and towards our soldiers are rarely reported by the news media,' said Colonel Michael Linnington, former brigade commander of the 101st Airborne Division.
'Ninety-nine per cent of the Iraqis I met were happy about the American presence.'
The hearing came after the Pentagon said the US military toll in Iraq topped 1,000 on Tuesday, with more than 800 deaths occurring since Mr Bush declared major combat operations were over in May last year.
Committee chairman Duncan Hunter said the hearing was about 'the selfless work of the American military in Iraq'.
With Senate and House hearings set for yesterday on abuses of Iraqi detainees at the hands of US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the Republican said 'the misdeeds of some soldiers...must not be allowed to define worldwide perceptions of our armed forces'.
Democrats, however, have blamed administration policies for leading to the apparently widespread prison abuses.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry called the 1,000 death toll a 'grim milestone'.
He criticised Mr Bush for making wrong decisions on Iraq, and said the war's US$200 billion (S$340 billion) cost was contributing to America's economic problems.
The committee's top Democrat Ike Skelton lauded the military officers at the hearing but questioned whether the administration had 'a viable exit strategy'.
He said it had let Fallujah and Sadr City become sanctuaries for insurgents, and said 'we cannot afford to...sit by while they attack us from these safe havens'. -- Reuters
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