I haven't heard Bush or Iraq mentioned yet.
Mentioning Bush or Iraq would cause a backlash among politically ambivalent viewers.
Driving the context up to the anti Bush edge is precisely the design so that when viewers turn off this show and catch a glimpse of American soldier trials they will negatively associate our American militancy with the ominous Cylons they saw on TV.
Don't get me wrong-- I will probably keep watching the same way I read the NYT-- but this is designed to inspire insurgent attacks on coalition forces around the world.
It was, obviously but indirectly. During the debate between the Cylons 15-20 minutes in, the Dean Stockwell character notably used not only the phrase "hearts and minds" but also "It's not like they welcomed us with..." clearly meant to be ended with "open arms". Yeah, Dean Stockwell was playing the mouthpiece for the Bush policies there and it was pretty obviously intentional.
I will give them credit for showing both sides of the suicide bomber issue and the bottom line is that it's a poor Iraq analogy, even if the writers intend it to be one. Baltar wasn't elected with 100% of the vote like Saddam, nor was he posing any threat to the Cylons, nor was he throwing people into plastic shredders or raping their wives, sisters, and children. The "resistence" also isn't filled with foreigners like it is in Iraq, nor is there sectarian violence between the people from the different colonies, nor are there people who are really happy that the Cylons are there.