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Those statements are absolutely delusional. I don't care who made them. Maybe he was put up to it. There is a reason why Rumsfeld is loathed.

That's like saying that even though the President's poll numbers are the lowest in his term, lower than Clinton's during impeachment, and now within a stone's throw of all-time lows (Truman and Nixon), and Congressional disapproval ratings are even worse than right before the 1994 landslide that ended 60 years of democrat rule in the House (59-40 Americans now want a Democrat Congress), that because Cynthia McKinney's race-baiting tactics backfire on her, that democrats as a whole have suffered a strategic defeat.

That's some serious "spin".

I think maybe the General needs to call the "home office" and "coordinate" his story.

If for some bizarre reason there actually is a justification to "spin", then at least everyone should be on the same sheet of music.

Al Qaeda cannot simultaneously be leaving Iraq in "strategic defeat" while also being "real threats" that are "ruthlessly devastating" to the people of Iraq and the region. Gen. Lynch's remarks below (dated Monday) are more accurate.

That being said, al Qaeda is shifting its focus. But not because it is failing to achieve its strategic goals.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2006/20060410_4774.html

Zarqawi, al Qaeda Threaten Iraq, Military Spokesman Says
By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2006 – A senior military spokesman in Baghdad today dismissed as untrue a U.S. newspaper article claiming the U.S. military launched a propaganda campaign to exaggerate terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's significance in Iraq to turn Iraqis against him and sway American public opinion.

"A recent article citing a military briefing from 2004 has called into question the threat that Abu Musab Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq pose to Iraq, dismissing it as 'propaganda' - nothing could be further from the truth," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said in a written statement rebutting today's Washington Post story.

Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq have openly declared war on the democratic process in Iraq and are responsible for the overwhelming majority of suicide attacks against the Iraqi people, Lynch said.

In addition, statements made by Zarqawi over the past year attest to the threat and the indiscriminate nature of his attacks, he said.

"He has called for foreign fighters to come to Iraq and join the jihad; stated that in order to kill infidels it is acceptable to kill women and children in the attacks; declared 'all-out' war against the Shiia and told other religious and tribal groups to join his anti-government cause or face attacks; and has called for increased attacks during Ramadan in order to secure victory and to establish a Muslim nation in Iraq," Lynch said.

The general went on to say that Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq might represent a relatively small portion of the overall insurgency, but their impact has been ruthlessly devastating.

"The terrorists and foreign fighters that he recruits, trains and equips carry out more than 90 percent of the insidious suicide attacks against the men, women and children of Iraq - attacks that have killed or injured thousands of Iraqis in the last year alone," he said.

Lynch cited a letter from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to Zarqawi, which clearly outlines al Qaeda's goal of becoming the dominant influencing power throughout the Middle East, as proof of their intent.

"Make no mistake, (Zarqawi) and al Qaeda in Iraq are real threats to the citizens, security and stability of Iraq, and we continue to conduct aggressive operations to eliminate the threat they pose not only to Iraq, but also to the rest of the region," Lynch said.