Frank Pallone: “how can we expect President Bush and his administration to win the war in Iraq if they continue to deny the realities…”

“how can we expect President Bush and his administration to win the war in Iraq if they continue to deny the realities our troops and the Iraqi people face on the ground? Last week provides several examples of a Bush administration in disarray: Cabinet officials contradicting each other on a daily basis and a President who continues to live in denial. Not only is the President in denial, but his hand-picked Iraqi Prime Minister appeared to be reading off the exact same page when he visited Washington last week. During a press conference in the Rose Garden President Bush claimed that "these have been months of steady progress." And in this House chamber last week Prime Minister Allawi echoed the President, reminding my colleagues "not to forget the progress we are making in Iraq." President Bush and Prime Minister Allawi can say we are making progress in Iraq, but the facts simply do not support their claims. Attacks against Iraqis and U.S. military personnel over the last couple of weeks are dramatically higher than they were in the weeks after the handover of power to the interim Iraqi government. Today on average 70 attacks occur on a daily basis, compared to 40 to 50 in July. Over the past 2 weeks these attacks have killed more than 250 Iraqis and 29 U.S. military personnel. How in the world is that progress, Madam Speaker? President Bush also ignores the real dangers surrounding the scheduled Iraqi elections in January.”