dc_dux

ace....why rhetorical? You don't want to discuss them further?

There is less sectarian violence for a number of reasons, including the surge of US troops....but also because of the mass exodus (some describe it as ethnic cleansing) of many (millions) from Baghdad to neighboring Syria and Jordan over the last two+ years (some of whom are now returning to neighorhoods that are unstable or unsafe, under the patrol of US financed and armed "concerned local citizens" (Sunnis who may have ties to al queda or anti-government groups) or at best, walled sectarian enclaves in Baghdad); the fact that al Sadr withdrew his militia from Baghdad and has effectively taken control of Basra instead, with promises to return to Baghdad if the dysfunctional government continues to be a "US puppet"; and the ill-advised new US strategy built around the so-called "anbar awakening", where we have paid and armed Sunni tribal chieftains, with no loyalty to the central government, to discourage their support of al queda. ....progress?

When Bush announced the surge in January, he said the goal was to give the Iraqi goverment "breathing space to make progress" and yet, the central government has still barely met 3-4 of the 18 benchmarks that were established nearly a year ago and are no closer to reconciliation or an oil revenue sharing law...progress?

The training of Iraqi military and police has been plodding along for 3 years now and still is highly infiltrated by the various militia and $1 billion of military equipment missing....progress?

They got quite a bit done.

The first minimum wage bill in 10 years, the most comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform in years, contracting reform, implementation of most of the recommendations of the 9-11 commission that were stalled, an energy bill that focused on energy conservation (new mileage standards, etc) and more alternative energy R&D funding rather than tax breaks to big oil, new trade/copyright protections in relations with China, restoration and reform of college tuition assistance, new investments to improve US competitiveness (double R&D budget and expanded focus on science and math education)..... not all of the above saw their way through to enactment and there would have been more progress if not for the unprecedented obstruction by Senate Republicans through "extended debates" (filibusters), not to mention Bush vetoes.



Oh...lets not forget the oversight of the DOJ that resulted in the exposure and correction of the worst politicization of the department in years.
This is a tough one because what the leaders learned in closed sessions is classified and could not be made public shared with other members at the time, but granted the Democrats could have been stronger and more vocal in their opposition, but they did introduce legislation prohibiting such practices.

And yet the White House rhetoric of WW III continued.

BTW, one of the findings of the phase II pre-war intel report from the Senate Intel that the Democrats forced to be released in May after Republicans held itup for two years concluded that:

"military action to eliminate Iraqi WMD would not cause other states in the region to abandon their WMD programs

also:
"establishing a stable democratic government in post-war Iraq would be a long, difficult and turbulent challenge (so much for "mission accomplished")

"al queda would probably seek an opportunity to accelerate its operational tempo and increase terrorist attacks..."

"Iraq was a deeply divided society that would likely engage in violent conflict..."

" the US defeat and occupation of Iraq probably would result in a surge of political islam and increased funding for terrorists groups

http://intelligence.senate.gov/prewar.pdf (pdf)

Bush chose not to share this intel with Congress or the American people prior to askng them to go to war.

He's hardly going down in flames and is still an influential leader in South America.

Lets see what happens with the bi-lateral trade deals with various South American countries that Bush will be pushing next year.


Not nearly as egregious as Bush misleading the American people by cherry-picking the intel (see the conclusions of the pre-war intel report above that the Repubs withheld for 2 years and none of which was shared with the Democrats in Congress or the public)

Or McCain (and other Repubs) on their recent tours to Iraq saying Baghdad is safer and thriving....as they walk through the streets of Baghdad in body armor, surrounded by US forces, humvees and air cover.

Back burner, with funding added in the omnibus budget bill to continue the program through next spring, at which time this highly popular program will become an election issue.

ace...you have a unique view on these issues and progress or lack thereof, but as you said, "you already know the answers"

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire