Iraq War: Signs of success (Seattle PI editorial)

[struggle4progress]

Thursday, February 22, 2007
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

... On Tuesday, Britain, along with Denmark, announced that it would start pulling troops out of Iraq ...

"President Bush sees this as a sign of success and what is possible for us once we help the Iraqis deal with the sectarian violence in Baghdad," said Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman. So we're to believe that just as Bush is asking for a troop surge in Iraq, he thinks that hearing that his biggest ally is starting withdrawal at this time is a big victory? We're expecting a press release telling us that not giving foreign-born Guantanamo prisoners the right to challenge their detention is a great victory for human rights.

On Tuesday, a U.S. appeals court ruled just that, that those arrested and detained by the U.S. at Gitmo could appeal their arrests only via the Military Commissions Act, which states that "enemy combatants" can be detained indefinitely. This, at a time when Europe is lashing out at the CIA for its "extraordinary rendition" program. Yup, we're making friends wherever we go.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/304572_coalitioned.html

[Matilda]

1. I think the White House engages in so much double-speak

they've tangled all their threads and completely lost the plot.