Maybe someone in this group will be interested in following MoveOn's
suggestion. If you want to write an LTE together, write to me offlist and I'll
be glad to work with you on it or even ghostwrite some of it for you.
Hajja Romi
[EMAIL PROTECTED] body, td, font, p, div, blockquote { font-family: arial,
verdana, sans-serif !important; font-size: 10pt !important; } td, font, p,
div, blockquote { /* overflow: hidden; */ } Yesterday, General
Petraeus distorted the facts to sell the Iraq "surge." Can you write a letter
to the editor of your newspaper to set the record straight? Click here:
Write a Letter
The effect of Petraeus' "funny math" on the violence in Iraq is clear if you
put his numbers side-by-side with the Associated Press' numbers:
Civilian deaths in Iraq:
Petraeus numbers:
Associated Press:
(Thanks to Spencer Ackerman and Talking Points Memo for collating this data.)
Dear MoveOn member,
Yesterday, General David Petraeus misled the country.
He used faulty statistics and cherry-picked intelligence to argue that American
troops should stay in Iraq for the foreseeable future. The general said we're
making major progress1and we have to stay the course. Sadly, independent
assessments show that things in Iraq have gone from bad to worse (see below for
more on how Petraeus stretched the truth).
Some of you have emailed to say it reminds you of the day four and a half years
ago when President Bush sent General Colin Powell to the U.N. to make a
trumped-up case for war.
Powell's WMDs helped justify the invasion of Iraq, and Petraeus' version of
"progress"if it goes unchallengedwill justify keeping troops there for years.
Can you take a few minutes to write a letter-to-the editor reminding folks that
the "surge" didn't workand that the responsible thing to do is bring our
troops home?
http://pol.moveon.org/lte?campaign_id=84&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=2
Petraeus based much of his assessment on the claim that violence in Iraq is
dropping.2 That just isn't true:
Petraeus is using "funny math." According to the Washington Post, Petraeus
and the Pentagon are using a bizarre formula for measuring violence in the
country. For example, deaths by car bombs don't count.3 And assassinations
count only if you're shot in the back of the headnot in the front.4
Iraqis believe the surge has failed. According to a massive new ABC/BBC
poll, every single Iraqi polled in Baghdad, the primary target of the "surge,"
said it had made security worse. Iraqis themselves overwhelmingly think the
situation in Iraq is deteriorating, in terms of security, political
cooperation, the economy, and other measures. Overall, 70% think the escalation
worsened rather than improved security conditions. 5
The independent GAO report found that violence is up. A comprehensive
Government Accountability Office report ordered by Congress found that "average
number of daily attacks against civilians have remained unchanged from February
to July 2007."6 In August, things got worse, with civilian casualties rising
according to the Associated Press7 and the Los Angeles Times.8
For our troops, it's the bloodiest summer yet. More U.S. troops died every
month this year compared to the same month last year.9
Petraeus claimed that he compiled his report without conferring with the White
House. But the Washington Post recently reported that Petraeus or his staff
joined daily conference calls with the White House and former RNC chairman Ed
Gillespie this summer to "map out ways of selling the surge." The Post reported
that Gillespie's White House political unit was "hard-wired" to Petraeus'
military unit.10
We would all like to see life improving in Iraq. But it's notit's getting
worse. And if US forces stay in Iraq both Americans and Iraqis will pay a
terrible price.
Today is the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history. The
wounds of 9/11 are still fresh for many of us. After 9/11, President Bush used
fear, lies and trumped-up intelligence to stampede us into Iraq. Now, America
is bogged down in an unwinnable civil war, and Al Qaeda has regained enough
strength to once again menace the United States.11
It would be a tragic irony if, six years later, the administration used skewed
intelligence to head off the growing momentum for an exit strategy from Iraq.
Please write a letter reminding America and Congress not to fall, ever again,
for White House lieswe need a timeline to bring our troops home.
http://pol.moveon.org/lte?campaign_id=84&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=3
Thanks for all that you do,
Nita, Karin, Laura, Eli, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
P.S. Yesterday, MoveOn members sponsored an ad in the New York Times debunking
Petraeus' claims. Click here to see the adand the evidence to back it up:
http://pol.moveon.org/petraeus.html?id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=4
The ad stirred a controversy on Capitol Hillit accuses Petraeus of "cooking
the books." And it charges that Petraeus is betraying the American peoples'
trust by spinning the facts to support the White House. Some Democrats were
uncomfortable with such strong language, and Republicans attacked MoveOn.
We're sure if we'd run an ad debunking Colin Powell's testimony in 2003, they
would have done the same thingbut sometimes it's important to set the facts
straight.
SOURCES
1. Washington Post, "Petraeus Backs Initial Pullout," 9/11/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2958&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=5 2. Ibid.
3. New York Times, "Time to Take a Stand," 9/7/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2941&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=6
4. Washington Post, "Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq," 9/6/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2938&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=7
5. ABC News, "Iraqis' Own Surge Assessment," 9/10/07
http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=3571504
6. Washington Post, "Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq," 9/6/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2938&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=8
7. Associated Press, "1,809 Iraqi civilians killed in August," 9/1/07
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20543737/
8. Los Angeles Times, "Iraqi civilian deaths climb again," 9/1/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2956&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=9
9. http://www.iCasualties.org
10. Washington Post, "Among Top Officials, 'Surge' Has Sparked Dissent,
Infighting," 9/9/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2957&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=10
11. Washington Post, "Scarier than Bin Laden," 9/9/07
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2959&id=11221-3339930-wNA6M2&t=11 PAID FOR BY
MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
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