yeah the time is right...but I feel all wrong.
Dear Amy Truax,
This is the first chance I've had to speak with you since joining the Kerry-Edwards campaign.
What a great day to do it -- the post-debate reviews are in, and the winner of last night's debate is clear:
"I think that Kerry did a good job." (Sen. John McCain, MSNBC, 9/30/04)
"Kerry was forceful and articulate." (Bill Kristol, Fox News Channel, 9/30/04)
"We saw Bush smirking...Kerry was more poised." (Wolf Blitzer, CNN, 9/30/04)
"Kerry's done a good job of becoming Mr. Homeland Security." (Jon Meacham, Newsweek on MSNBC, 9/30/04)
Yesterday, our entire country saw John Kerry show the strength and conviction that Americans expect in our president. He offered clear plans for Iraq and for fighting terrorism, while George Bush merely delivered the same shallow promises that have become the hallmark of his administration.
John Kerry did his job last night; now it's time for you to do yours.
Winning this debate is not winning the election -- there are two more presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. With one month left, there is still a lot of work to do. After last night's debate it is clear that this election is about a choice between a stronger America or four more years of George Bush's bad choices. You've already made one choice by becoming part of the largest grassroots political movement in history. You have another choice to make -- what will you do between now and Election Day?
I have some choices for you.
Option 1: You can host a house party.
Host a get-together during the October 5 vice presidential debate or the October 8 or October 13 presidential debates. If you live east of the Mississippi, ask your friends to show up early -- west of the Mississippi, ask them to stay a little late. We'll have some important tasks you can help wi th on those nights. The work you get done at your house party will have a big impact on the election.
Click here to learn more and sign up:
http://www.democrats.org/events/
Option 2: You can make a contribution to help all our Democratic candidates:
https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html
Thanks for all that you are doing.
Joe Lockhart
Senior Advisor
Kerry-Edwards 2004
Fraud Week:
Fraudulent Prime Ministers, Documents and Polls
by Michael I. Niman , ArtVoice 9/30/04
http://mediastudy.com/articles/av9-30-04.html
Iraq's "Prime Minister"
It's always been one of the unwritten diplomatic rules - foreign leaders
shouldn't meddle in American elections. Then came Iyad Allawi, the supposed
"Prime Minister" of Iraq. Allawi's recent United Nations address and public
appearances in the U.S. reek of partisan Bush campaign rhetoric. Put
simply, Allawi is shamelessly "on message," repeating tired old Bush team
lies about a fantasy Iraq in the midst of a glorious reconstruction.
Allawi's Iraq is a mirage nestled on the threshold of democracy, replete
with ample drinking water, reliable electricity and a successful new
entrepreneurial class. It's the embodiment of "mission accomplished" -- an
Iraq that exists only in the oratory of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld.
The real story is that Iyad Allawi is hardly a "Prime Minister." He
received his title from the U.S.-appointed Iraq Governing Council as part of
the Bush administration's Iraqi sovereignty charade. Allawi is a former
Baath official who defected to Britain in 1976, becoming an operative for
MI6, the U.K.'s version of the C.I.A. More recently, he was one of the
main sources for the misinformation about Saddam's supposed weapons of mass
destruction during the run-up to the Iraq invasion. Patrick Cockburn of The
Independent of London credits Allawi as the source for the misinformation
alleging that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction which "could be
operational in 45 minutes." Dupes like Senator John Kerry bought into the
lies, authorizing a war that eventually installed Allawi as "Prime Minister"
of a homeland he fled almost three decades earlier.
This time around Kerry called Allawi on his obvious lies. The scandal in
the press, however, wasn't about the "leader" of the Iraqi puppet regime
shilling for the Bush team, or about the Bushistas shamelessly
choreographing Allawi's litany of tired old lies. No. The scandal was
about John Kerry, as George W. Bush put it, questioning "Prime Minister
Allawi's credibility." With the neo-con echo chamber in full force at FOX
"News" and on Clear Channel radio stations, Kerry was chastised for pointing
out that the naked emperor was naked.
Forgery-Gate & Forgotten Truths
This is par for the course. Earlier in the week, the corporate media was
abuzz with allegations that CBS News' story about Bush's National Guard
service (or lack thereof) was based on forged documents. In the ensuing
frenzy, the media spun the AWOL Bush as a victim of a nasty slander
campaign. In reality, however, the CBS story only echoed earlier reports
broken, without relying on questionable documents, by The Boston Globe and
The Nation. Their stories, based on recently released government documents
and interviews with people who would have been Bush's fellow guardsman, had
Bush been there, detail evidence of Bush being grounded, being AWOL, and
failing to complete his Guard duty.
These earlier reports, which verified years of speculation, should have been
national news - but they were trumped by the scandal over CBS' faulty
handling of the story. Hence, the reality that the essential facts of the
CBS story were correct, despite CBS' failure to properly report the story
themselves, was lost on a media-dazed public. At the end of the day the
echo-chamber spin framed Bush as a victim of the "liberal media." Damage
control doesn't get any better than this.
The real question is who launched those tainted documents in CBS' direction?
One clue has emerged: Hours after the CBS report, a post on the ultra right
wing Free Republic website meticulously detailed the flaws in the documents
cited by CBS. According to an investigation by The Los Angeles Times, the
poster, who used the online handle "Bankhead," was actually Republican party
operative Harry MacDougald, who led the fight to disbar President Clinton
during the Monica Lewinski scandal.
It gets thicker. CBS originally planned to air an investigation exposing
the fabrication of evidence linking Iraq with weapons of mass destruction in
the run-up to the U.S. invasion. That story, featuring correspondent Ed
Bradley, was bumped so that CBS could run its tainted report on Bush's
National Guard service. Had CBS not bumped this report, Bush would have
been smarting from a one-two punch of reality with the W.M.D. story
appearing hot on the tail of the Boston Globe and Nation reports about an
AWOL Bush. CBS now refuses to air the W.M.D., lamely arguing that it's too
close to election time and the story might taint the outcome - as if truth
was something the American people need to be protected against.
Don't Believe the Hype
Of course, if we are to believe the polls, the election is a done deal - we
might as well stay home and resign ourselves to an endless Orwellian
purgatory. Only the polls don't seem to make any sense. During my recent
sojourns in Republican rural Central New York, I've seen nary a Bush sign
among the hundreds of "Bush Must Go" placards. I've been getting similar
reports lately from across the American heartland - this supposed
groundswell of Bush support is all but invisible.
So how does the Gallup poll put Bush up to 13 points ahead of Kerry? To
find the answer we need to look not at Bush or Kerry, but at Gallup. The
family-owned company, once a stalwart of neutral polling, was bought in 1988
by Selection Research of Lincoln, Nebraska. The current C.E.O., James
Clifton, is a Republican Party donor. The methodology Gallup currently uses
skews results to favor Republican candidates. First, they telephone
households and ask to speak initially with the youngest male. Men are more
likely than women to vote Republican. Next, they set quotas for Republicans
and Democrats to be interviewed, supposedly designed to reflect the
electorate. According to Gallup, this electorate is 40% Republican and 33%
Democrat, hence their respondents must me 40% Republican and 33% Democratic.
You see where I'm going with this? Next, Gallup only polls those people who
use landlines as their primary telephones, disenfranchising all those folks
who use cell phones as their sole telephones. In the end we get a poll that
does more to shape reality than it does to report it. By undercounting Kerry
supporters, such polls undermine Democratic efforts to raise money and
momentum while building up the bandwagon effect for the Republicans.
Meanwhile, Zogby International, a non-partisan polling agency with an almost
dead-on track record for accuracy, polled New Yorkers on the eve of the
Republican Convention, asking them if they believed U.S. government leaders
had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Half of the New York City residents
and 41% of the New York State residents polled believe our leaders "knew in
advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11th, 2001, and
that they consciously failed to act." Wow. Zogby also chalked the
presidential election up as a dead heat. Either New York is way out of
touch with the rest of the country, Gallup is out of touch with Zogby, or
Gallup and Zogby are polling in different countries. In any event, when it
comes to politics, follow your heart - not the polls - and do the right
thing.
New York Residents can download a voter registration form at
www.mediastudy.com/vote.html. It must be mailed postmarked by October 8th.
Dear Amy,
In last night’s presidential debate, we finally got a glimpse of the truth about George Bush’s disastrous foreign policy, free from attack ads and character assassination. John Kerry exposed the grim reality: the president misled us into a debacle in Iraq, has left the US more isolated and less safe, and has neither the plan nor the world credibility to correct deteriorating security conditions in the world.
And we saw first hand how George Bush could not respond to that truth. Grimacing and smirking, returning to memorized pat phrases, the president continued to deny the reality that must be faced to get us out of the mess in Iraq. Similarly, he offered no compelling strategy to defend America against growing terrorist threats elsewhere in the world.
http://straighttalk.ourfuture.org
Despite what happened last night, we know that too often it is the spin -- not the substance -- of debates that count. Most Americans did not watch the debate. And now, the right-wing chorus is gearing up another round of personal attacks on Kerry and echoing a line that distorts the truth revealed last night.
Let’s beat them to the punch. Let’s take them on before they cement their next set of distractions and distortions. Visit Straight Talk right now to see and spread the REAL stories that will neutralize the spin:
http://straighttalk.ourfuture.org
Using your zip code on Straight Talk, you can find and directly email local and national news media about the real news you expect them to report. Challenge your local newspapers, TV and radio stations to stay focused on the REAL headlines impacting our country today:
"Iraq war draining US resources" (more)
"US Involvement in Iraq Raises Terror Risk" (more)
"Iraq war lifts Al Qaeda recruitment" (more)
Straight Talk will give you the hard facts and real-world stories needed to back up your case. Use it to hold the media accountable to report the truth about Iraq and the debate last night. Use it to cut through impending right-wing distortions, and ensure the media and public stay clear about what’s real and what’s just distracting spin.
At this moment, the right wing is gearing up to transform Bush’s exposed weakness last night into an attack on John Kerry’s character. Go to Straight Talk now to prevent them from shifting the focus away from the truth - the truth of the president’s failing national security strategy, and the truth that Senator Kerry offers a clear and compelling alternative.
Let’s keep the facts in front of the American public: http://straighttalk.ourfuture.org
Thank you in advance for continuing to tell it straight!
Sincerely,
Robert L. Borosage, Co-Director
Campaign for America's Future
P.S. If you like what you see at Straight Talk, please contribute to help us spread it far and wide! We want to publicize the growing collection of rhetoric-busting facts and personal stories across the country through the news media, Capitol Hill and paid advertising. Your contribution will help us to do that:
https://secure.ctsg.com/ourfuture/donate_straighttalk.asp
Dear MoveOn member,
The debate last night was a make-or-break moment in our campaign to win back the White House. Today the verdict is in: with confidence and conviction, Kerry made the case against Bush's disastrous foreign policy -- and Bush couldn't take the heat. Today's editorial by the Boston Globe sums it up: "Ladies and gentlemen, you wake today to a whole new presidential race. Last night, John Kerry won as clear a debate victory as we've seen since Ronald Reagan outdueled Jimmy Carter in 1980…The Democratic challenger seemed more serious and substantive, more knowledgeable and confident, than the man who holds the job."
It's become a truism that the post-debate spin matters as much as the debate itself. We've got a running start today -- the reaction last night nation-wide was overwhelmingly in John Kerry's favor. But it's critically important that we all get out there and help seal the deal.
Over the weekend, Americans will look to the letters-to-the-editor pages of their local newspapers to confirm their perceptions about the candidates and their performances. Please take a few minutes today to write a letter highlighting how Kerry confronted Bush with the truth and the way that it rattled and angered him. We've set up an online tool that highlights some key talking points and makes it easy to find your local newspaper.
To write a letter to the editor, go to:
http://www.moveonpac.org/lte/lte.html?lte_campaign_id=13
John Kerry's performance was very strong. But what sealed the deal for many commentators was how rattled Bush got when confronted with the truth about his policies. The Washington Post derided his "stammering and pausing," the New York Times said he was "scowling and grimacing" and "petulant," the Boston Globe noted his "sighing, clenching his teeth, rolling his eyes," the LA Times said he seemed "tired and annoyed," and CBS News described Bush as "scowling at times and looking away in apparent disgust at others." Mark Halperin of ABC News summed it up: George Bush was "remarkably angry-seeming."
Kerry has said before that George Bush lives in a "fantasy world of spin." Last night that fantasy world began to crumble. Bush appeared angry that anyone would dare to challenge his view of the facts. Faced with the reality of the mess he has created in Iraq, and challenged for repeatedly misleading the American people, he retreated, falling back on his trite slogans over and over and over.
One of the most compelling moments of the debate came when George Bush once again tried to connect Iraq and 9/11. But Kerry wouldn't let him do it, and Bush scowled at his powerful response. We've put together a great web video that captures this moment. Check it out now at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/
Even the conservative pundits gathered on Fox News had to admit that Kerry looked pretty good last night. Bill Kristol said, "I think Kerry did pretty well, and…we're going to have a real presidential race." And right-wing commentator Joe Scarborough conceded: "I don't see how anybody could look at this debate and not score this a very clear win, on points, for John Kerry."
And the voters agree. ABC News said, "John Kerry won the debate," pointing to a poll of independent voters who declared Kerry the winner, 45% to 36%. CBS News said, "John Kerry won the debate," and found Kerry up by 15 percentage points among uncommitted voters. Even Gallup, a polling firm which has consistently skewed Republican, found Kerry winning by 16 percentage points, with a whopping 46% of the viewers saying that the debate made their opinion of Kerry more favorable. On the web, clickers delivered a landslide: with over 250,000 votes cast on the CNN website, 77% of the viewers thought that Kerry won, as opposed to only 19% for Bush.
Kerry's win last night will transform the presidential race. As voters get to actually meet the man Karl Rove has demonized, they realize he presents a serious alternative to Bush's reckless policy of endless war. But it's up to us to seal the deal for our friends, family, neighbors, and communities, as these perceptions are forming. Please take a moment to write a letter to the editor today at:
http://www.moveonpac.org/lte/lte.html?lte_campaign_id=13
With a month to go, this race is turning around. Kerry is building momentum. The polls are narrowing. And on November 2nd, we're going to win this thing.
Thanks for everything you do,
--Adam, Eli, Hannah, James, Laura, and the whole MoveOn PAC Team
Friday, Octobter 1st, 2004
P.S. Overnight, a group called Safer Together has put together a remarkable rapid-response ad featuring women watching the debate whose loved ones are in Iraq. The ad juxtaposes Bush saying "I see on the TV screens how hard it is, and we're making progress" with emotional comments from these women who feel the real impact of the war. You can watch it online at:
http://www.sistersspeakout.com/
PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Help Kerry Win the “Debate Spin” War: E-mail a Letter to the Editor, Emphasizing How Well Kerry Did and That People Should Vote for Him
Write Your Own Letter or E-mail One of Ours
Click here to e-mail a Letter to the Editor of your local paper
The presidential “debates” are more about spin than the exchange of ideas in a democracy. Distasteful as this is, we need to take advantage of any opportunity we get, as citizens, to spin the debates in Kerry’s favor and to reach out beyond our like-minded circle of friends.
Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper is a simple way to do this. The letters page is one of the most popular sections of the newspaper-read by all kinds of people, including those still on the fence about whom to vote for.
We’ve made it easy to do this online. So, please take a minute to submit a letter to the editor. Click below and you’ll see just how easy it is, both for people who want to compose their own letters and for those who want the convenience of sending one that’s already been drafted for you. http://www.showgeorgethedoor.org/letters
Yours for Electing Kerry and Dumping Bush,
Jason Salzman
TrueMajority’s Media Guy
P.S. Here’s something else you can do to help convince people who are on the fence about John Kerry, particularly those who question his patriotism and bravery. Take them to see Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry, which hits the movie theaters Friday. It’s a portrait of Kerry and Vietnam-and how our nation dealt with the war. It’s the kind of movie your Republican uncle might enjoy-and it might just make him want to vote for Kerry.
Amy,
Here is the latest update on some critical issues we are currently working on, as we continue to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and social injustice around the world. Thank you, as always, for being part of Oxfam America's eCommunity.
Coffee Campaign Victory - Thanks to You!
Oxfam America would again like to thank the more than 7,000 eCommunity members like you who told President Bush and the State Department that the US should re-join the International Coffee Organization (ICO). You helped us keep the pressure on the Administration.
We are now pleased to tell you that the US government recently announced that it will return to the ICO! The US can now use its position at the ICO to develop solutions to the global coffee crisis. By pushing for quality improvement programs, access to markets, and diversification initiatives, the US could help increase the price that small coffee farmers receive. (Read more.)
Presenting the New OxfamAmerica.org
VISIT OUR NEW SITE!
Who We Are
What We Do
What You Can Do
News & Publications
Latest from Sudan, Haiti
Take a look at the new Oxfam America web site! Our re-designed, user-friendly site features: hundreds of new pages, some incredible photography, timely updates, easy and simple navigation, an improved search function, and more news from the field.
But this is only the beginning! In the upcoming weeks we'll post new Spanish and French pages. And, as we've mentioned to you before, by early next year we plan to enhance our eCommunity with more interactive features and new functions. If you have comments, please take a moment to send the web team your feedback.
Dispatches from Afghanistan
One exciting new feature on our re-launched website is Oxfam Dispatches. This weblog (or 'blog') allows you to travel along with Oxfam staff working on projects with our partners in some of the poorest countries in the world.
So pack your bags, and join two staffers, Nathaniel Raymond and Kenny Rae, on their trip to Afghanistan. You can follow this pair as they witness a great deal of hope amidst the harsh realities of daily life in Afghanistan. The journey starts here.
eCommunity Mailbag
We get a lot of interesting responses to our newsletters and actions. But we were particularly touched and inspired to read the following email. Kevin McMahon, a US Olympian (hammer throw) in 1996 and 2000, wrote to tell us:
"As one of the first pro athletes to speak out against the injustice of sweatshop clothing in sport, I cannot thank you enough for your efforts to clean up the Olympic Games. This has been a struggle for me for so long - it is wonderful to finally see some real progress in providing the workers with the human dignity that they deserve - and that the Olympic Games espouses. Your efforts are truly Olympic."
Thanks, Kevin. And thanks for your efforts.
If you have comments, concerns, stories, or questions - please email us!
Sincerely,
David Moore
Internet Campaign Organizer
Oxfam America
Dear Amy Truax:
I am pleased to introduce you to the new EPIC Dispatch. Our emails are now easier to read and more interactive. In addition, we can now customize our emails based on feedback from subscribers like you. If you have suggestions, let us know at info@epic-usa.org
Tonight at 9 pm EST, President Bush will face Senator Kerry in a 90-minute televised debate. As a nonpartisan watchdog for the people of Iraq, EPIC does not endorse either candidate. In fact, we are critical of both candidates regarding their positions and track record on Iraq.
Since 1998, we have advocated a new standard for U.S. policy on Iraq, and we encourage all parties to live up to that standard. For EPIC, it's simple. The health and welfare of the Iraqi people matter. A free and secure Iraq is important not only for the people of Iraq, it is important for our national security and the safe return of U.S. soldiers.
Here at EPIC, we believe the policies and performance of the Bush administration have cost Iraqis dearly, made the world less secure, and undermined U.S. credibility, especially among Iraqis. The President does, however, appear to have a clear vision for Iraq and, unlike Senator Kerry, is willing to tell us why - as Americans - we should care about Iraq.
Senator Kerry correctly points to the President's "miscalculations, mistakes, and misjudgments" that have endangered American and Iraqi lives and undermined America's standing in the world. And unlike the President, he is not afraid to "change course." However, the question is what that new course might be, and whether it would be sufficient to meet our obligations to the international community and the people of Iraq.
Help us keep the focus on the need for "Peace in Iraq through Change at Home." Following tonight's debate, challenge both candidates to do better. Let the two campaigns (locally or via their websites) know how you feel and write local and national media outlets. To help you, EPIC has compiled the official positions of both candidates, informed commentary, and an assessment of the current situation.
Enjoy the debate!
Sincerely, Erik Gustafson
Executive Director
Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC)
P.S. I'm sorry but you are not Registered to Vote. Don't let that nightmare happen to you at the polls. As many can testify to in Florida, being registered does not necessarily mean that you remain registered. For most states, next week marks the deadline to register to vote. For more information, click the "Your Vote Matters" icon on EPIC's homepage (http://epic-usa.org).
EPIC Primer for Tonight's Presidential Debate
EPIC Dispatch No. 199
Kerry's Plan for Winning the Peace in Iraq
1. Make Iraq the world's responsibility. Increase burden-sharing with our allies.
2. Effectively train Iraqi security forces.
3. Creating a new reconstruction program that brings more benefits to the Iraqi people.
4. Taking necessary steps to hold elections next year, put Iraq on the path to democracy.
Read the entire plan at:
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=367
Bush's Plan for Helping Iraq Achieve Democracy and Freedom
1. Transfer of power on June 30th
2. Establish security and stability
3. Continue rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure
4. Enlist additional international support for transition
5. Free, national elections held no later than January 2005
Read the speech at:
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=368
Why Kerry Is Right on Iraq
Fareed Zakaria asks the question: "Was toppling Saddam's regime a worthwhile objective?" While Bush says yes and Dean says no, Kerry has said that it was justified but carried out incorrectly, a view for which he has been criticized by both conservative and liberal pundits. Zakaria writes: "Perhaps Iraq would have been a disaster no matter what. But there's a thinly veiled racism behind such views, implying Iraqis are savages." Zakaria believes Kerry has the "most defensible position on the subject." Regarding President Bush, he writes "having a good objective means nothing if you implement it badly" (Newsweek 8/23/2004).
Read the full article at:
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=369
Why Kerry is Wrong on Iraq
In his op-ed "America Abroad," editor of The New Republic Lawrence Kaplan criticizes the foreign policy tenets of Senator John Kerry as neglecting the lessons of the past. Kaplan argues that the Senator's rhetoric about spending money abroad at the expense of domestic programs are the kind of outdated "isolationist cliché" that would have "fit neatly in the GOP of the 90's or in the Democratic Party of the 70's and 80's." Of the Presidential candidates, Kaplan asserts that George W. Bush comes closest to inheriting Bill Clinton's brand of liberal internationalism. He writes: "The mantle of liberal internationalism that the Democratic Party surrendered in the jungles of Viet Nam, only to reclaim during the 90's - and which is more relevant today than ever - may have just been surrendered again" (Wall Street Journal 09/22/2004).
Read the full commentary at:
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=364
The Bush Plan for Iraq: A Risk Assessment
Anthony Cordesman examines George W. Bush's speech in May outlining the road map for Iraq. He states that "it is easy to ignore the details of the plan…and focus on domestic politics, the greater Middle East, or the events that have led to today's problems in Iraq. The critical issue over the weeks and months to come, however, is whether the President's plan can be made to work. The critical portions of the President's speech are well worth reading several times because - one way or another - they outline as pragmatic a strategy as the US can hope to advance at this point in time. Whatever might have been, this is now. The US, Iraq, and the world must live with the fact and try to make the best of it." (CSIS 05/25/2004)
Read the full report at:
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=370
Exit Strategy: Rebuilding Iraq
Ten months since Congress appropriated $18 billion to rebuild Iraq, only $1.2 billion has been spent. According to Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institute, Iraq continues to face 30-40% unemployment; a drop in the hours of electrical service per day; inadequate water and sanitation; under-equipped health care facilities; and poor living conditions (Brookings 9/17/04).
Last week, the lack of meaningful progress in rebuilding Iraq prompted criticism by leading Senate Republicans. Senate Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN) went as far as to declare: "This is the incompetence of the administration" (Washington Post 9/20/04). Like Senator Lugar, EPIC does not believe that security conditions alone are to blame. Recent independent audits confirm U.S. failures in the oversight and management of Iraq's oil revenues and U.S. reconstruction funds.
The following articles assess the current state of Iraq reconstruction.
"Iraq: A Quantitative Assessment" by Michael E. O'Hanlon and Adriana Lins de Albuquerque Brookings Institute, 9/17/04)
http://www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/ohanlon/20040917.htm
"Disorder, Negligence and Mismanagement: How the CPA Handled Iraq Reconstruction Funds"
(Open Society Institute, September 2004)
http://www.iraqrevenuewatch.org/reports/092404.pdf
"Reconstructing Iraq" (International Crisis Group, 9/2/04)
http://www.icg.org/home/index.cfm?id=2936&l=1
"The Iraq Jobs Crisis" (EPIC Issue Brief, June 2004)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=262
Exit Strategy: Training an Effective Iraqi Force to Restore Security
For over a year, EPIC has advocated a phased handover of security responsibilities to Iraqis who are adequately funded, equipped, and trained to restore security while protecting human rights. Sadly, progress has been far too slow, prompting Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders alike to express their concern.
Reuters reports: "[Pentagon] documents show that of the nearly 90,000 [Iraqis] currently in the police force, only 8,169 have had the full eight-week academy training. Another 46,176 are listed as ‘untrained,' and it will be July 2006 before the administration reaches its new goal of a 135,000-strong, fully trained police force (Reuters 9/26/04)."
Until far more progress on security has been achieved is made, hasty U.S. withdrawal would risk even greater instability and violence, and could result in political fragmentation leading to either civil war or a return to authoritarian regime.
Neither President Bush nor Senator Kerry has called for such a withdrawal. Instead, both advocate accelerating the training of Iraqi forces as part of an effective exit strategy. The following articles evaluate the current status of training an effective Iraqi security force, both from the perspective of the man in charge of that mission, Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, and of independent experts.
"Battling for Iraq" by David H. Petraeus (Washington Post 9/26/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=372
"Key Bush Assertions About Iraq in Dispute" by Adam Entous (Reuters 9/26/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=377
Interview with Anthony Cordesman (Council on Foreign Relations, 9/16/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=378
Exit Strategy: Free and Fair Elections
Both Presidential candidates view free and fair elections as critical to an effective U.S. exit strategy from Iraq. However, the two candidates differ regarding timing. President Bush supports national elections in Iraq by January 2005. Additionally, some administration officials, namely Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, have suggested that a combat offensive would be required ahead of elections and even then, parts of Iraq may not be secure enough to participate in the elections. Senator Kerry supports holding elections in Iraq sometime next year, but views the President's January timetable as unrealistic.
To ensure a successful political transition in Iraq, EPIC advocates inclusive free and fair elections on the local, provincial and national levels. EPIC also asserts that more time is required to ensure adequate security, fairness, and full national participation. EPIC would like to see both candidates converge on that view - a view that is shared by the following experts and major newspapers:
"Iraq Can Wait for Democracy" by Noah Feldman (NY Times 9/24/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=371
"Match Iraq Policy to Reality" by Jessica Mathews (Washington Post 9/23/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=376
Editorial: Iraq's Disappearing Elections (NY Times 9/26/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=375
Editorial: Imperfect Elections (Washington Post 9/27/04)
http://www.epic-usa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=374
Please visit Education for Peace in Iraq Center at www.epic-usa.org
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