Posted on 04/09/2003 2:57:23 PM PDT by ArcLight
Almost as soon as war in Iraq began, President Bush began to backpedal, equivocating on the optimistic predictions that had preceded the conflict.
The rosiest scenario, promulgated by virtually every administration official, was the specter of millions of Iraqis throwing down their arms at first sight of American troops, lining the streets and cheering them as liberators. Television commentator Chris Matthews called this the "gold standard" for gauging the war's success. Such a picture is surely the image the administration wishes to promulgate by naming the military action "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
In the first days of fighting, such jubilation has been far from evident. Despite the parade of retired military commanders on television touting the progress of the U.S. troops, resistance has been stiff. U.S. soldiers have not been welcomed by the Iraqi population. Moreover, hundreds of thousands elsewhere in the Islamic world have turned out to protest the American actions in what seems to be a perpetual demonstration.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.pacificnews.org ...
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