Fact Versus Fantasy in Iraq

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For the past two and a half years, the administration has glossed over the realities in Iraq by asserting that the insurgency is weakening and progress is being made. It has continued with the same rhetoric despite startling statistics of ongoing violence in Iraq. Two thousand U.S. soldiers have now died in Iraq. Approximately 30,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, and the deaths continue to mount. The attached document, “Fact Versus Fantasy,” offers a snapshot of the contradictions between the facts on the ground and the administration’s fantasy of Iraq, juxtaposing the statements from the administration with the number of casualties since March 2005.

The Bush administration must level with the American people. It must confront the facts and acknowledge the danger. Belief in progress alone does not produce progress, and optimistic assertions should not take the place of careful, responsible policy. The American people deserve the truth, not the fantasies of the White House.

The Center for American Progress has created its own plan for confronting Iraq, entitled Strategic Redeployment. It proceeds from the facts and not from a fantasy of Iraq. Strategic Redeployment is a threat-based strategy to target our efforts against global terrorist networks and bring greater stability to Iraq and its neighborhood. Strategic Redeployment differs from other plans for what to do in Iraq by recognizing that Iraq is now connected to a broader battle against global terrorist networks – even though it was not before the Bush administration’s invasion.

Read the Strategic Redeployment plan

Read the full report(PDF)