the u.s. embassy memo that the washington post obtained this week is just another pathetic and ironic chapter in this whole iraqi misadventure. the memo was sent to washington, painting a dim picture of iraq just days before bush's photo-op visit to baghdad.
at the same time bush was touting progress there, ambassador khalilzad was writing about deteriorating security, iraqis who work for the occupation authorities or iraqi government who are forced to keep secret what their job is for fear of being murdered, rampant abductions, deterioration of women's rights to a level previously unknown in modern iraq, and ethnic cleansing across the country.
a pdf copy of the memo is here. it's impossible to read the memo and look at the president's recent public statements about iraq without getting the impression of a man who is either deeply out of touch with the situation there, or who is just lying through his teeth to the american people about it. regardless of what the president actually knows and when he knew it, his administration feels that iraq remains mostly a public relations issue and that given enough happy talk the disaster we set into motion there will fade away.
but events in iraq stubbornly proceed without regard to what the administration's image consultants say, and the american public doesn't seem to believe the administration anymore. despite last week's stunts in baghdad and in congress, bush's approval ratings remain in the 30s with the iraq war consistently identified as the biggest problem with his administration. the only thing they have going for them on the iraq issue is the democrat's inability to embrace the opinion that is held by a clear majority of americans: that the war was a mistake and that we have to find a way to get ourselves out of there. how long will it take before the leaders of both parties are willing to take as realistic a look at iraq as the american people already are.
