We're working on an emergency project for Monday to respond to the White House report on Iraq. You're one of our most steadfast supporters and we could use your help right now.
With a report due Monday on whether the "surge" worked, there are new revelations that the administration is cherry-picking facts, re-writing reports and using misleading data to claim progress. We're working on an emergency New York Times ad to get the facts out there in advance of Monday's report. Can you chip in $10?
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There are new revelations that the administration is cooking the books on Iraq—they're cherry-picking facts, re-writing reports and using misleading data to claim progress.1 We need to make sure Congress and the American public sees this evidence. If the administration can create a consensus that the escalation is working, they can justify continuing the war—and we could end up stuck in Iraq for another 10 years.
We're working on an emergency full-page ad in the New York Times to get the facts out there in advance of Monday's report. This is true "rapid response" and we're scrambling to make the ad and raise the money to run it. Can you chip in $10?
The White House keeps claiming progress, but the truth is that the escalation made things worse, not better. The fact is that independent reports show that the escalation has been a total failure. Violence in Iraq has gone up. This has been the bloodiest summer in Iraq for US troops.2 Iraqi casualties are running at double the pace of last year3 and there is evidence of ethnic cleansing in Iraq.4
But the White House won't tell us that. They actually came up with their own bizarre formula for measuring violence in the country. For example, deaths by car bombs don't count.5 The Washington Post reported that assassinations only count if you're shot in the back of the head—not the front.6
By gaming the numbers this way, they're able to claim that violence has dropped because of the escalation. It's a bald-faced lie but if they get away with it we'll end up staying in Iraq for another decade.
We're ready to fight back with the facts—can you help?
Thanks for all you do,
–Nita, Justin, Daniel, Natalie and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Saturday, September 8th, 2007
Sources:
1. "Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq," Washington Post. September 6, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2938&id=11203-7018451-GdWVTP&t=4
2. Iraq Coalition Casualties, icasualties
http://icasualties.org/oif/ByYearGraph.aspx
3. "Violence Appears to Be Shifting from Baghdad." The Associated Press, August, 25, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20440397/
4. "Baghdad's New Owners," Newsweek, September 9, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20546328/site/newsweek
5. "Time to Take a Stand," New York Times, September 7, 2007 (subscription required)
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2941&id=11203-7018451-GdWVTP&t=5
6. "Experts Doubt Drop in Violence in Iraq," Washington Post. September 6, 2007
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2938&id=11203-7018451-GdWVTP&t=6
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