:: NEWS COCKTAIL aka BlahBlahBlog ::

:: 12.01.2005 ::

:: Bushwhacked Nation update ::

Bush nears admission of errors
Seattle Post Intelligencer

WASHINGTON -- (AP) President Bush came as close as he ever has to admitting mistakes on Iraq Wednesday, acknowledging setbacks and uneven results in the training of Iraqi troops in his latest defense of the war 2 1/2 years after he first declared victory.

And while he vowed U.S. troops would not be withdrawn to satisfy "artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington," his Naval Academy speech in Annapolis, Md., could help set the stage for a reduction in troops next year.

That's because Bush emphasized progress, if initially halting, in the training of Iraqi troops who will one day replace U.S. forces. Any U.S. reduction, the president said, will be driven by "the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders."

Democratic critics focused on the fact that Bush's speech, and an accompanying 35-page document entitled "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq," broke no new ground, mostly restating administration aims put forth in 2003.

Bush "once again missed an opportunity to lay out a real strategy for success in Iraq that will bring our troops safely home," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

But Bush's speech, the first of several he's expected to make in the run-up to Dec. 15 elections to seat a permanent Iraqi government, appeared to reflect an administration repositioning to highlight exit preparations - if not exactly an exit timetable - and to more closely define the nature of the enemy.

Read more here.

posted by me

:: 12:52:00 AM [+] ::
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