Mixed Messages, Mixed Bag o' Nuts

Earlier in the week Bush spoke about the dangers in mixed messages. He told a small audience of press that "You can embolden an enemy by sending a mixed message. You can dispirit the Iraqi people by sending mixed messages. You send the wrong message to our troops by sending mixed messages. That's why I will continue to lead with clarity and in a resolute way, because I understand the stakes." How eloquent.

In this faux press conference, Bush and Allawi also spoke about their optimism for the scheduled elections.

The fifth and most important step in our plan is to help Iraq conduct free national elections no later than next January. An Iraqi electoral commission is now up and running and has already hired personnel and is making key decisions about election procedures. Just this week, the commission began a public education campaign to inform Iraqis about the process and encourage them to become voters. United Nations electoral advisors are on the ground in Iraq, though more are needed. Prime Minister Allawi and I have urged the U.N. to send sufficient personnel to help ensure the success of Iraqi elections.

If UN 'electoral advisors' are good enough for Iraq, why not the U.S?

Q Mr. President, two more Americans have been beheaded. More than 300 Iraqis have been killed in the last week. Fallujah is out of government control. And U.S. and Iraqi forces have been unable to bring security to diplomatic and commercial centers of Baghdad. Why haven't U.S. forces been able to capture or kill al Zarqawi, who's blamed for much of the violence? And what's your answer to General John Abizaid's statement that, "I think we will need more troops than we currently have"?
PRESIDENT BUSH: If that's what he says -- he was in my office this morning; he didn't say that to me, but if he were to say that, I'd listen to him, just like I've said all along, that when our commanders say that they need support, they'll get support, because we're going to succeed in this mission.

The first part of the question was, how come we haven't found Zarqawi. We're looking for him. He hides.

Q Sir, I'd like you answer Senator Kerry and other critics who accuse you of hypocrisy or opportunism when, on the one hand, you put so much stock in the CIA when it said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and now say it is just guessing when it paints a pessimistic picture of the political transition.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.

Q And I like to, if you don't mind, follow on something the Prime Minister just said. If General Abizaid says he needs more troops and the Prime Minister says he does not want more troops, who wins?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Let me talk to General Abizaid. As I said, he just came in to see me, and I want to make sure -- I'm not suggesting any of the reporters here might be taking something out of context -- that would never happen in America. But, nevertheless, I do want to sit down and talk to him about it. Obviously, we can work this out. It's in the -- if our commanders on the ground feels it's in the interest of the Iraq citizens to provide more troops, we'll talk about it. That's -- that's why -- they're friends; that's what we do about friends.

So President Bush doesn't know what his Generals are saying. Sounds familiar. The General had to tell Bush, but the bunch probably didn't want to hear anything like that. They probably are making Abizaid move his front foot out the door, which is why he would go backdoor on the administration and tell the media what we really need.

First part of the question -- oh, yes, yes --

Q They say you've been opportunistic --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, got it. Listen, the other day I was asked about the NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE, which is a National Intelligence Estimate. This is a report that talks about possibilities about what can happen in Iraq, not probabilities. I used an unfortunate word, "guess." I should have used, "estimate." And the CIA came and said, this is a possibility, this is a possibility, and this is a possibility. But what's important for the American people to hear is reality. And the reality is right here in the form of the Prime Minister. And he is explaining what is happening on the ground. That's the best report. And this report was written in July, and now we are here in September, and as I said, "estimate" would have been a better word.

Was that a admission of error? Sounded like it...

The President doesn't know what his Generals want. The media does, Bush doesn't.

Minutes after this conference, Rumsfeld came out and said that it's likely the elections will be partial. He's saying that whether two-thirds or four fifths vote, it's better than not, right? Well. Maybe, but why should Iraq be any different than the U.S.? Wait! In this case... they're not.

Today, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the January elections should encompass the entire country?

If the Bush administration is admonishing Kerry for emboldening the enemy by sending mixed messages, what do they call this bumbling incompetence? This is truly inadequate leadership rife with laughable communication between departments, within departments, and within offices.

So. Iraq PM Iyad Allawi was supposed to make Bush look good. His trip has turned ugly and shown that we can be in as much disarray as Iraq. Why should we be any different?