IRAQ
Six Years Of War In Iraq

Six years to the day  have passed since President Bush launched the invasion of Iraq, a preventative war of choice based on "intelligence fixed around the policy." The purpose, according to Bush, was "to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger." Yet of course, there were no weapons to disarm and no "grave danger" to defend against. The war has spawned more terrorists and created deeply rooted resentment of the United States. Even including the billions of dollars Congress has authorized to bail out the nation's troubled financial institutions, this unnecessary war will most likely turn out to be "the largest spending bill in history," as Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) called it. Billions have been lost in waste, fraud, and abuse. Private contractors who have raked in billions from the war have established solid records of endangering the lives of Americans and Iraqis in the country. More importantly, al Qaeda -- the main threat to the U.S. when the war was launched -- "has organized to pre-9/11 strength" because Bush turned his back on Afghanistan, a war in which the U.S. and its allies are not currently winning. However, the war in Iraq may be starting to draw to a close. Late last year, the Bush administration negotiated a security agreement -- or "withdrawal accord" -- with the Iraqi government, mandating that all U.S. troops exit the country by 2011. Last month, President Obama announced his own plan to speed up that process, ordering two-thirds of U.S. forces to redeploy by Aug. 31, 2010. The Progress Report has rounded up the significant developments surrounding the Iraq war over the last year -- some good, some bad, and others ugly.

THE GOOD:
-- Violence in Iraq is down to its lowest level since August 2003.
-- A new ABC/BBC/NHK poll suggests that Iraqi civilians are "more upbeat about the future," and for the first time since March 19, 2003, violence and insecurity "are no longer the main concern of most Iraqis."
-- U.S. combat deaths are at their lowest level since the initial invasion.
-- Iraqi leaders and U.S. troops have offered praise of Obama's plan to speed up the American withdrawal from Iraq.
-- Iraqi civilian casualties have been steadily dropping since 2007, and despite a slight uptick in February, January 2009 "set a record for the lowest number of Iraqi civilians killed" since the war began.

THE BAD:
-- Through last Tuesday, 4,260 U.S. servicemen and women and hundreds more from coalition countries have been killed in Iraq since the war began. Tens of thousands have been physically and mentally wounded. In fact, suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans "may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care."
-- According to Iraq Body Count, nearly 100,000 (maybe more) Iraqi civilians have lost their lives because of the war. Nearly 5 million Iraqis have either been internally displaced or left the country.
-- A U.N. report released last month found that more than 25 percent of Iraq's young men are out of work, "a situation that is likely to worsen and threatens the country's long-term stability. ... Overall, the country's unemployment rate is 18%, but an additional 10% of the labor force is employed part time and wanting to work more."
-- A study released last month found that "Iraq accounts for 1,067 suicide attacks" anywhere since 1981, "a number that accounts for more than half (54.8%) of all suicide attacks" since that time.
-- The situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate as precious American and allied resources are still being used in Iraq.

THE UGLY:
-- Being an architect of the war means never having to say you're sorry. Bush blames others for having to launch the war. Vice President Cheney is convinced the life and treasure lost to fight the Iraq war was worth it. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice actually said she is "so proud" the U.S. invaded Iraq. And major war architect Richard Perle now denies the existence of neoconservatism, the ideological basis for the invasion.
-- Despite zero evidence, Bush administration officials are still trying to link Saddam to al Qaeda.
-- The British government released internal memos and e-mails last week that provide further evidence that the government dossier former UK prime minister Tony Blair used as the basis for which to justify the country's involvement in the invasion was indeed "sexed up" with unsupported claims of an imminent threat from Iraq.
-- Last July, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) introduced a resolution praising the success of the "surge" of U.S. forces into Iraq "against enemies who attacked America on 9/11." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) recently introduced a "Victory in Iraq" resolution (despite the fact that Gen. David Petraeus refuses to use the term) "chronicling the success of the troop surge in Iraq and warning the new Commander-in-Chief that if he changes strategy, he takes ownership of whatever happens on his watch." 
-- The war has engendered so much hostility that during Bush's last press conference in Iraq, Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi threw both of his shoes at the President in an attempt to avenge the humiliation Bush levied on the Iraqi people. "This is a farewell kiss, you dog," al-Zaidi said.

Under the Radar

MILITARY -- ARMY WILL  PHASE OUT 'STOP-LOSS' POLICY BY 2011:  Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday said that the Army would end the practice known as "stop-loss" over the next two years. The controversial policy -- which Gates said "amounted to 'breaking faith' with those in uniform" -- occurs when a soldier remains with her unit after her individual enlistment obligation expires. Many troops and family members have denounced the stop-loss policy as a "back-door draft," and an estimated 120,000 soldiers have been affected since 2001. Around 13,000 soldiers are serving under the policy today, and Gates said "the goal is to reduce that number by 50 percent by June 2010 and to bring it down to scores of soldiers by March 2011." Those still on stop-loss will receive additional payment of $500 per month given retroactively through October 2008. Veterans groups have applauded the decision. Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org remarked, "The stop-loss policy is one that has been expanded and abused for too long...and it is a significant and positive sign that the president plans to largely end it." 

MEDIA -- FOX NEWS' VAN SUSTEREN'S HUSBAND IS A 'PROTECTOR OF THE PALIN BRAND': During the presidential campaign, Fox News's Greta Van Susteren had perhaps the best access to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) of any journalist. In September, she hosted a one-hour "documentary" on the GOP vice presidential candidate, titled "Governor Sarah Palin -- An American Woman." She also scored an exclusive interview with Todd Palin, in which she grilled him "on everything from the story behind the name 'First Dude' to how he feels about the name 'First Dude.'" Palin even chose Van Susteren for her first post-election national television interview. Since then, Van Susteren has consistently covered Palin, keeping an eye out for any potential slights of the governor and gushing over her popularity. On Monday, the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza revealed one of the reasons that Van Susteren may have so much interest in and access to Palin: it turns out that her husband, John Coale, is one of "the figures charged with guiding Palin's political image in Washington." In an interview with Cillizza, Coale "acknowledged that he suggested" Palin "start a leadership PAC and helped her navigate through some of the questions surrounding her family that lingered after the campaign." "Others familiar with Palin's political team insist that Coale has far more power than he is letting on -- essentially helping run Sarah PAC," reported Cillizza. According to a Nexis search, starting on the day that Sarah PAC was announced, Van Susteren has never disclosed her husband’s behind-the-scenes role on air. Ironically, just last week, Van Susteren decried people thinking she's "so close to the Palin family." "The only way that I've met them is by interviewing them," she said, never mentioning her husband's relationship to Palin.

CONGRESS -- MORE LAWMAKERS WHO OPPOSED SALARY CAPS LAST MONTH ARE NOW ATTACKING AIG BONUSES: As The Progress Report noted earlier this week, Republicans who opposed Wall Street salary caps -- such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Banking Committee ranking member Richard Shelby (R-AL) -- are now flipping their positions to condemn the bonuses paid by AIG. This week, McConnell made the rounds on cable television to misleadingly suggest that he has always favored salary caps. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO), and Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) are also now joining in the hypocrisy. Inhofe, for example, said this week, "The AIG situation is clear evidence of what happens when you shovel money out the door with no strings attached and no transparency." While Inhofe today demands that federal bailouts come with "strings attached," he expressed the opposite view in February when he asked, "[I]s this still America? Do we really tell people how to run [a business], and who to pay and how much to pay?" Similarly, former Speaker Newt Gingrich yesterday penned an op-ed venting his "outrage" at the "fat bonuses" paid to staffers at AIG. However in November, Gingrich scoffed at the idea of capping salaries specifically at AIG, remarking, "You have a level of micromanagement of AIG and others. You can't apply Washington bureaucratic rules to a free market company without ultimately destroying the company."

Think Fast

On the heels of the AIG bonus controversy, federally run mortgage giant Fannie Mae "plans to pay four top executives $1 million or more in retention bonuses." The bonus plan is part of a retention program instituted by the government when it took over Fannie Mae and wanted to keep “employees deemed crucial to the company's efforts to carry out government housing plans."

The House will vote today on a bill to levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses paid "to employees with family incomes above $250,000 at companies that have received at least $5 billion in government bailout money."

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) "said the Obama administration asked him to insert a provision" into last month's stimulus bill that modified restrictions on executive pay and "had the effect of authorizing American International Group Inc.'s bonuses." He said he did not want to make changes to the provision, but "did so at the request of administration officials, who gave us no indication that this was in any way related to AIG."

President Bush's memoir will tentatively be called "Decision Points" and is scheduled for a 2010 release by Crown. "Bush will concentrate on about a dozen personal and presidential choices, from giving up drinking to picking Dick Cheney as his vice president to sending troops to Iraq." He will also write about "his religious faith and his highly criticized response to Hurricane Katrina."

The House Republican Conference, attempting to be a part of the health care reform debate, "has set up a weekly education series for aides, called Health Care Boot Camp. Experts from the Congressional Research Service and former Hill and administration staff members who are now at think tanks or in the private sector lecture on health policy."

In addition to the increase in U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, Obama is expected to announce that the U.S. will deploy hundreds of additional U.S. officials in what the Washington Post calls a "civilian 'surge.'" The proposal also "includes a more narrowly focused concentration on security, governance and local development in Afghanistan." Today, the Center for American Progress is holding a webcast-event that will discuss the plan.

Yesterday, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) announced that she will be resigning from Congress to become Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. "Keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists, making sure other countries do not obtain them and, one day, I hope, ridding the world of these terrible weapons, has become my passion and, I hope, my life's work," she said.

Yesterday, Obama directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to drop a proposal to bill private insurance companies for the treatment that Veterans receive at VA hospitals for combat-related injuries," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement. The measure was under consideration because it would have saved the VA approximately $530 million per year.

And finally: It's March Madness, and most lawmakers are saying that they'll turn a blind eye and let their staffs have some fun. "My staff puts in long hours and into the weekends, so if they watch a basketball game, I won't be too upset," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who represents the district of the sixth-seeded UCLA. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) said he would be "disappointed" if his staff didn't "seize the opportunity to keep an eye first and foremost on the University of Oklahoma." Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL), however, had a different view: "If I miss them, then my staff has to miss them, too."

Good News

In a largely unnoticed change, Merriam-Webster has included a secondary definition of the word "marriage": "the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage."

State Watch

VERMONT: "At least 1,000 of Vermonters...converged on the Vermont Statehouse Wednesday evening for the debate over same-sex marriage."

CALIFORNIA: "A state advisory board recommended a 24.4 percent rate increase for workers' compensation insurance effective July 1."

NORTH DAKOTA: Legislation "says a clinic must offer a patient a chance to look at an ultrasound image of her fetus before she goes ahead with an abortion."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: FLASHBACK: In October, President Obama said that AIG executives "should be fired" for their excesses.

WONK ROOM: Fox News's Glenn Beck attacks smart grid as a socialist plot to steal our thermostats.

YGLESIAS: The surprising popularity of farm subsidies.

EDGE OF THE WEST: New Deal lessons for AIG.

Daily Grill

"No one was arguing that Saddam Hussein somehow had something to do with 9/11."
-- Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, 3/18/09

VERSUS

"We know that Iraq and the Al Qaida terrorist network share a common enemy: the United States of America. We know that Iraq and Al Qaida have had high-level contacts that go back a decade."
-- President Bush, 10/7/02

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