06/30/05

While Republicans voiced strong support for the president, it was the growing unrest in their ranks, as well as the rapid loss of support in the public-opinion polls, that persuaded the White House that a major new public relations effort was necessary to save the policy. Even then, Republicans interviewed after the speech admitted that the administration had a serious problem, only allayed partially by Bush's solemn tone, of reconciling its official optimism with the day-to-day news of rising casualties among both U.S. troops and Iraqi citizens, after a brief hiatus following last January's elections. More than 1,700 U.S. soldiers have died in the Iraqi conflict, more than half of them since the formal return to Iraqi sovereignty one year ago, an occasion that Bush's speech Tuesday was intended to mark. As noted by the Post Wednesday, the number of car bombings in Iraq has risen from 18 in June 2004 to 135 last month...

http://www.antiwar.com/lobe/?articleid=6490

from AntiWar.Com, by Jim Lobe


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp