Kennedy Spins Report for Gain

Kennedy Spins Department of Defense Report for Political Gain Sen. Edward Kennedy grossly misrepresented a Department of Defense report on progress in Iraq issued over the weekend to bolster his agenda of smearing both President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The report, issued Friday assessed the current position of American troops and the capacity for the newly formed Iraqi government to assume security operations. It is required quarterly under legislation filed by Kennedy and Sen. Durbin last year.
The report says that: “Although sectarian violence threatens the effectiveness of the Government of Iraq, terrorists have failed to derail Iraq’s political process, or to widen their political support among the Iraqi people. Polling data continue to show the confidence of most segments of the Iraqi people in the Iraqi Army and their rejection of al-Qaeda’s vision of Iraq’s future.” Kennedy, in a press release responding to the report, says that “Today’s report from the Department of Defense simply reaffirms what the American people already understand: the conditions of civil war exist, violence in Iraq is spiraling out of control and staying the course is not a viable option.”
The report specifically said that conditions of a “civil war” do not exist in Iraq, yet Kennedy claims that the report said that they do. Moreover, Kennedy’s response to the report ignored some of the most significant facts about the progress of American troops in the country. For example, on July 13, 2006, the Muthanna Province, one of the 18 provinces in Iraq, transferred from being under Coalition control to the Provincial Governor and the civilian-controlled Iraqi Police Service. No American troops are needed any longer in that province. Iraqi troop levels have reached 84% objective levels, meaning they are close to being ready to assume full responsibility for security of the country. Kennedy’s misrepresentation of the facts of the report is part of a wider Democrat agenda to remove Donald Rumsfeld from his cabinet position, as well as gain new Democrat seats in Congress after the November elections. The full report from the Department of Defense, which is 63 pages, can be read HERE