References to “September 11″: 5

References to “weapons of mass destruction”: 0

References to “freedom”: 21

References to “exit strategy”: 0

References to “Saddam Hussein”: 2

References to “Osama Bin Laden”: 2

References to “a mistake”: 1 (setting a timetable for withdrawal)

References to “mission”: 11

References to “mission accomplished”: 0

Bush: “To further prepare Iraqi forces to fight the enemy on their own, we are taking three new steps: First, we are partnering Coalition units with Iraqi units Second, we are embedding Coalition ‘Transition Teams’ inside Iraqi units Third, we are working with the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate anti-terrorist operations.”

Fact: This Is Not New; Bush Said We Would Work With Iraqi Units Last February.

Bush: “The game plan is to stand with the Iraqis, is to train them better, is to give them a chain of command, is to work with their junior officers, so that the Iraqi units — which did very well on election day — have got what it takes to defend their own country.” [Bush, 2/4/05]

Fact: Bush Said He Would Work With Iraqi Government Before.

Bush: “But I believe that the Iraqi government’s going to be plenty capable of dealing with them, and our job is to help train them so that they can.” [Bush, 5/31/05]

Bush: “This [Iraq] is a government that’s got the ministries in place, that spends the money. We’re willing to help — and we have helped. And I want to thank the Congress and the American people for their generosity in helping Iraq rebuild. And we’re spending money.” [Bush, 6/24/05]

Bush: “In this time of testing, our troops can know: The American people are behind you. Next week, our Nation has an opportunity to make sure that support is felt by every soldier, sailor, airman, coast guardsman, and Marine at every outpost across the world.”

Fact: “The Bush administration, already accused by veterans groups of seeking inadequate funds for health care next year, acknowledged yesterday that it is short $1 billion for covering current needs at the Department of Veterans Affairs this year.” [Washington Post, 6/24/05]

President Bush: “Some Americans ask me, if completing the mission is so important, why don’t you send more troops? If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tel me they have the number of troops they need to do their job.”

Fact: According to the London-based think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the insurgency in Iraq gains strength from the lawlessness of western Iraq: “Militarily, it’s a security vacuum.” The main reason U.S. military officers have said they are unable to gain control of the west? Not enough troops. (As Maj. Mark Lister, a senior Marine air officer in Al Anbar province, put it, “Basically, we’ve got all the toys, but not enough boys.”) President Bush has insisted he has sent enough troops to Iraq. U.S. military officers in the western Al Anbar province say they’ve repeatedly asked for more troops, but commanders in Baghdad and the Pentagon have denied their requests.

Bush: “Setting an artificial timetable would send the wrong message to the Iraqis — who need to know that America will not leave before the job is done. It would send the wrong message to our troops — who need to know that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their lives to achieve. And it would send the wrong message to the enemy — who would know that all they have to do is to wait us out.”

Fact: Then-Gov. Bush: “I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.” [Seattle Post Intelligencer, 6/5/99]

Bush: “Today Iraq has more thann 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions.”

Fact: Most Iraqi Security Forces Are Not Trained Or Equipped

Fact: “Only three battalions are rated fully operational by the Americans, and many others are far behind in terms of manpower, training and equipment.” [New York Times, 6/13/05]

Fact: According to the Brookings Institution, as of May 2005, only 50,000 troops were proficient and well-equipped. [Brookings, 6/3/05]

Bush: “In January 2005, more than eight million Iraqi men and women voted in elections that were free and fair — and took place on time.”

Fact: The White House “resisted the idea of holding elections [in January] and only succumbed under pressure from Iraq’s most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.” Iraq expert Juan Cole charges, “It was Sistani who demanded one-person, one-vote elections. So to the extent it’s a victory, it’s a victory for Iraqis. The Americans were maneuvered into having to go along with it.”

Bush: “In the past year, we have made significant progress.”

Fact: Daily attacks are on the rise. The number of attacks per day has risen from 10 in May 2003 to 52 in June 2004 to 70 last month. [Brookings, 6/3/05]

Fact: Car bombs are on the rise. “[T]here have been more than 484 car bombs since the handover, according to an Associated Press count, killing at least 2,221 people and wounding at least 5,574.” [AP, 6/27/05]

Fact: Gen. John Abizaid said insurgency is just as strong as six months ago. “In terms of comparison from six months ago, in terms of foreign fighters, I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago. In terms of overall strength of the insurgency, I would say it is the same as it was.” [CNN, 6/23/05]

Fact: Rumsfeld said insurgency could go on for 12 years. “That insurgency could go on for any number of years. Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years.” [Fox News, 6/26/05]

Bush: “The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11 … if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi … and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden.”

Fact: “So I don’t know where [Osama Bin Laden] is. You know, I just don’t spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you.” [President Bush, 3/13/02]

Bush: “Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war.”

Fact: Before the War, Bush Said Rationale For Iraq War Was To Prevent It From Becoming a Terrorist Training Groud: “Imagine a terrorist network with Iraq as an arsenal and as a training ground, so that a Saddam Hussein could use this shadowy group of people to attack his enemy and leave no fingerprint behind.” [Bush, 11/4/02]

Fact: Now, CIA Report Says Iraq Becoming Prime Location For Training of Al Qaeda Militants; Better Than Afghanistan. “A new classified assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency says Iraq may prove to be an even more effective training ground for Islamic extremists than Afghanistan was in Al Qaeda’s early days, because it is serving as a real-world laboratory for urban combat.”