The Truth Is Stronger Than Bush

The truth is coming out and George W. Bush doesn't like it. In 2003, as the facts became more obvious about the truth in Iraq, I was like a lot of people: I didn't know whether Bush was incompetent, was surrounded by incompetents, had lied to himself or had knowingly lied to the American people about the case for war in Iraq.

The pattern continues. Bush has claimed that only three provinces out of the eighteen in Iraq are experiencing serious problems. It turns out the truth is almost the reverse. This article about an internal administration report is several days old, but given all that is happening, it's important to put it out there again:

An internal staff report by the U.S. Embassy and military command in Baghdad provides a snapshot of Iraq's political, economic and security situation in each of the 18 provinces, rating overall stability of six provinces "serious," one as "critical" and only three as "stable."

The report is a counterpoint to some recent upbeat public statements by top U.S. politicians and military officials.

In 10 pages of briefing slides, the report, titled "Provincial Stability Assessment," underscores the shift in the nature of the Iraq war three years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Warnings of sectarian and ethnic frictions are raised in many regions, even in provinces generally described as nonviolent by U.S. officials.

Only three provinces are described as stable. Only three. Bush and his friends owe the American people an apology for continuing to push false information. We as a nation have a right to know what Bush is doing in our name and to have the facts.