THE PUSHBACK

THE PUSHBACK CONTINUES as much on the editorial pages as at the White House regarding where Iraq is headed.  Honesty seems in short supply. In an LA Times editorial Max Boot laments the disconnect between the views of Iraqis and soldiers in Iraq and journalists and finger in the wind politicians.[Max Boot/LA Times]

Yet in a survey last month from the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, 47% of Iraqis polled said their country was headed in the right direction, as opposed to 37% who said they thought that it was going in the wrong direction. And 56% thought things would be better in six months. Only 16% thought they would be worse.
American soldiers are also much more optimistic than American civilians. The Pew Research Center and the Council on Foreign Relations just released a survey of American elites that found that 64% of military officers are confident that we will succeed in establishing a stable democracy in Iraq.

LOOKING AT THAT SURVEY just based on what Boot says 36% percent of officers are not confident on Iraq’s future.  One would hope all officers would be confident.  No word from Boot on what the grunt getting his ass blown off by an IED thinks.  The Heretik will need a closer look at the Pew Survey to say more.

BOOT PRESENTS the International Republican Institute as US-based and one hopes neutral. The truth is it is loaded with Republican influence, not to mention money.[SourceWatch]

Loosely affiliated with the Republican Party, the International Republican Insitute (IRI) works closely with the the National Endowment for Democracy and United States foreign policy instruments, including the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, to support economic and political development programs around the world. The organization is almost exclusively funded by the U.S. government and related agencies.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW how neutral the IRI is consider the recipients of its awards: Freedom Award 2001 Dick Cheney[White House Acceptance Speech transcript]  Freedom Award 2005 George Bush [White House Acceptance Speech transcript].  Last seen both of those guys had a tilt to their view on Iraq.  Here's what Bush had to say when he picked up his prize about the “neutral” IRI.

I'm here to thank you for supporting the IRI. And I appreciate the work IRI is doing to advance the cause of liberty. For more than two decades, IRI has been at the forefront of democratic change in more than a hundred countries. You've trained the next generation of leaders, you've strengthened political parties, you've monitored elections, and you're helping to build civil societies. You've made an enormous difference in the lives of millions across the world -- I hope that makes you feel good. The world is safer and freer and more peaceful because of the International Republican Institute. Thank you for your good work. (Applause.)
These are incredibly exciting times. They must be exciting times for you. And they're exciting times for me. They should be exciting times for everybody -- because freedom is making unprecedented progress across the globe.

WE ARE ALL in this together.  In the case of the White House and the IRI, they are in it together more than most.

Comments

[blogenfreude]

This is like the joke news crawl I've seen: Fox News is fair and balanced according to new survey by Fox News.
Oy.