taken from the president's Nov 30th speech

...On the political side, we know that free societies are peaceful societies, so we're helping the Iraqis build a free society with inclusive democratic institutions that will protect the interests of all Iraqis. We're working with the Iraqis to help them engage those who can be persuaded to join the new Iraq -- and to marginalize those who never will. ...

...on the economic side, we're helping the Iraqis rebuild their infrastructure, reform their economy, and build the prosperity that will give all Iraqis a stake in a free and peaceful Iraq. In doing all this we have involved the United Nations, other international organizations, our coalition partners, and supportive regional states in helping Iraqis build their future.

...

Some critics continue to assert that we have no plan in Iraq except to, "stay the course." If by "stay the course," they mean we will not allow the terrorists to break our will, they are right. If by "stay the course," they mean we will not permit al Qaeda to turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban -- a safe haven for terrorism and a launching pad for attacks on America -- they are right, as well. If by "stay the course" they mean that we're not learning from our experiences, or adjusting our tactics to meet the challenges on the ground, then they're flat wrong. As our top commander in Iraq, General Casey, has said, "Our commanders on the ground are continuously adapting and adjusting, not only to what the enemy does, but also to try to out-think the enemy and get ahead of him." Our strategy in Iraq is clear, our tactics are flexible and dynamic; we have changed them as conditions required and they are bringing us victory against a brutal enemy. (Applause.)

Most Americans want two things in Iraq: They want to see our troops win, and they want to see our troops come home as soon as possible. And those are my goals as well. I will settle for nothing less than complete victory. In World War II, victory came when the Empire of Japan surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri. In Iraq, there will not be a signing ceremony on the deck of a battleship. Victory will come when the terrorists and Saddamists can no longer threaten Iraq's democracy, when the Iraqi security forces can provide for the safety of their own citizens, and when Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists to plot new attacks on our nation...



Commentary: Now, I am somewhat reluctant to become the umpteen millionth person throwing stones at the logic here, but given this...

In December 1999, the UN Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. The drop in GDP in 2001-02 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food imports increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services steadily improved. Per capita output and living standards were still well below the pre-1991 level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. The military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003 resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic administrative structure. Although a comparatively small amount of capital plant was damaged during the hostilities, looting, insurgent attacks, and sabotage have undermined efforts to rebuild the economy. Despite continuing political uncertainty, the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) has founded the institutions needed to implement economic policy, and has successfully concluded a debt reduction agreement with the Paris Club. The high percentage gain estimated for GDP in 2004 is the result of starting from a low base.
-The CIA

and this...

KBR workers in Iraq paid 50 cents an hour


By PAMELA HESS
UPI Pentagon Correspondent

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- While the United States spends billions on troop support in Iraq, the people serving the meals, scooping the ice cream, and washing the dishes make as little as 50 cents an hour.

The U.S. military has paid Halliburton subsidiary KBR about $12 billion so far for so-called logistics support to U.S. military personnel in Iraq, the largest contract of its kind ever. Around 80,000 troops are served meals at dining facilities every day under the contract -- the other 60,000 or so fend for themselves in field kitchens or by eating military issue "Meals Ready to Eat."

KBR in turn hires that work out entirely to subcontractors whose job it is to recruit, transport, house, feed and pay "third-country" nationals to stock, prepare, serve and clean up at the dining facilities at 43 bases across Iraq.

Those workers are recruited from countries with already low wages, where jobs are scarce. And as pressure to keep the logistics contract cost down has increased, subcontractors have moved from country to country in search of cheaper labor markets.

That is what brought around 770 workers from Sierra Leone, Africa, to Iraq in July to work for ESS Support Services Worldwide, A British-based food service company specializing, according to its Web site, in "remote site, defense and off-shore locations."

Most of the workers are deemed unskilled and work seven days a week for 12 hours a day, according to their contracts, one of which was obtained by United Press International. In practice, workers said in interviews, most only work six days a week.

There is no provision for sick leave. Any employee who threatens a strike or attempts to organize is subject to immediate dismissal and the employee required to pay for his return plane ticket.
UPI


and this...

The Los Angeles Times said the Pentagon had secretly paid Iraqi newspapers to run articles reflecting well on the US.

Many stories are being presented as independent accounts, the paper said.

Questioned about the issue, a US spokesman in Baghdad said Iraq's most-wanted militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was also using the media.

"He [Zarqawi] is conducting these kidnappings, these beheadings, these explosions, so that he gets international coverage to look like he has more capability than he truly has," Maj Gen Rick Lynch said in Baghdad.

"He is lying to the Iraqi people. We don't lie - we don't need to lie," he added.

"We do empower our operational commanders with the ability to inform the Iraqi public but everything we do is based on fact, not based on fiction."

In a report published on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times said the articles in question trumpet the work of US and Iraqi troops.

It alleged they were written by US soldiers, and translated into Arabic by a defense contractor which helps place them in Baghdad papers.

The LA Times said the stories were then presented as unbiased accounts by independent journalists, rather than stemming from the US military.

Although many are basically factual, they only present one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the US or Iraqi government, the newspaper added.
The BBC

...

So, in order to create a more free and strong Iraq, we are teaching them to steal, lie, exploit the less fortunate, and exaggerate statistically marginal information. And prevaricate (here, and here). And screw the little guy.

I think this is a friggin shame. I mean, I never served, and admire the hell out of the courage it must take to do so. But I am appalled that people are being asked to die in my name for this type of policy, behavior, and empty rhetoric.

Bush's goals are not plans. They are GOALS. Stating your goals, and then calling them plans, doesn't make them plans any more than sitting down to a plate of sawdust, and calling it Coquille St. Jacques, would taste like anything other than the inside of a wood shop classroom. This is idiotic.

One last point, as I think it is still being glazed over. I do not doubt that Iraq has been ripe as a recruiting ground for al-Qaeda and other networks of terrorists (and please don't get me wrong - anyone who straps a bomb on their chest to wander into a crowded public place is someone I am willing to fight against). I DO doubt, based on any evidence I've seen, that we are fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq. The remark at the end of the excerpt from Bush's speech above: "Victory will come...when Iraq is not a safe haven for terrorists to plot new attacks on our nation..." is entirely disingenuous. It implies that that is where the first terrorist attacks came from. It is not. See here. And here. And here. And maybe even here, from the office of the Director of Central Intelligence, who talks about the war in Iraq as an aside to the struggles against al-Qaeda and other networks of terrorists.

And what about the other place? You know - the one where we actually found al-Qaeda members? How come I never hear about that place anymore?

And, just in case any small piece of this reaches George Bush, ever - please stop with the World War II references. You look very small and confused in comparison.

What was it Alan Moore said? "It's cold and hard and I don't like it anymore?" Something like that.