Today, President Bush is scheduled to deliver a major speech on Iraq policy, offering “his vision for the post-surge.” The New York Times speculated yesterday that the Bush administration would be changing course in Iraq, potentially offering a drawdown of troops in the near future. Tony Snow vigorously denied the report.
Today, the Washington Post reports that the White House is not talking about a real strategy change, but instead, a “political strategy” to “shift [Bush’s] message.”
This morning, White House spokesperson Tony Snow unveiled the new message. Making the rounds on the morning shows, Snow repeatedly claimed Bush was embracing a “new way.”
Some want us to take a new look at the way we’re doing things, which is exactly what’s taking place.
This is not the beginning of the end, it’s the beginning of a new way.
That’s why we’re coming up with a new strategy.
In reality, this “new way” message is simply more of the same old escalation policy. When Fox News asked Snow if Americans could anticipate a new strategy, Snow answered, “No. What we’re really trying to report on is the new way that started about six months ago.” Watch a compilation:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/07/snowbmcompilation3.320.240.flv]
Transcript:
SNOW: Some want us to take a new look at the way we’re doing things, which is exactly what’s taking place. That’s what the surge is, and we’re now at the very opening stages of it.
[…]
SNOW: In other words, benchmarks are not a device for trying to figure out how to get out of Iraq. They’re a device for figuring out how to succeed in Iraq. And so I think it’s going to set off an important debate.
But this is not the beginning of the end, it’s the beginning of a new way.
[…]
SNOW: But the fact is, this is a picture at the very beginning of a new way forward in Iraq. What you would expect is you’re not going to have the whole thing solved. That’s why we’re coming up with a new strategy.
[…]
DOOCEY: Is the president going to be changing his message?
SNOW: No. And in point of fact, you know, what you find is that, for instance, there’s been some reporting that the White House is going to do a new way. No. What we’re really trying to report on is the new way that started about six months ago.