Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the
first battalion of the new Iraqi Army has graduated and is on active
duty·

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... over
60,000 Iraqis now provide security to their fellow citizens.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...nearly all of Iraq's 400 courts are functioning.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... the
Iraqi judiciary is fully independent.


Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...on
Monday, October 6 power generation hit 4,518 megawatts—exceeding the
pre-war average.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...all
22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open, as
are nearly all primary and secondary schools.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1, by
October 1, Coalition forces had rehabbed over 1,500 schools - 500 more
than their target.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...
teachers earn from 12 to 25 times their former salaries.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...all
240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...doctors' salaries are at least eight times what they were under
Saddam.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...pharmaceutical distribution has gone from essentially nothing to
700 tons in May to a current total of 12,000 tons.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the
Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccination doses to
Iraq's children.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...a
Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000
kilometers of weed-choked canals. They now irrigate tens of thousands
of farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi
men and women.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...we
have restored over three-quarters of pre-war telephone services and
over two-thirds of the potable water production.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... there
are 4,900 full-service connections. We expect 50,000 by January
first.



Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the
wheels of commerce are turning. From bicycles to satellite dishes to
cars and trucks, businesses are coming to life in all major cities and
towns.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...95
percent of all pre-war bank customers have service and first-time
customers are opening accounts daily.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...
Iraqi banks are making loans to finance businesses.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the
central bank is fully independent.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... Iraq
has one of the world's most growth-oriented investment and banking
laws.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... Iraq
(has) a single, unified currency for the first time in 15 years.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...satellite dishes are legal.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...foreign journalists aren't on 10-day visas paying mandatory and
extortionate fees to the Ministry of Information for "minders" and
other government spies.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... there
is no Ministry of Information.


Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...there
are more than 170 newspapers.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... you
can buy satellite dishes on what seems like every street corner.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...
foreign journalists and everyone else are free to come and go.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...a
nation that had not one single element—legislative, judicial or
executive-- of a representative government, does.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...in
Baghdad alone residents have selected 88 advisory councils. Baghdad's
first democratic transfer of power in 35 years happened when the city
council elected its new chairman.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...today
in Iraq chambers of commerce, business, school and professional
organizations are electing their leaders all over the country.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... 25
ministers, selected by the most representative governing body in
Iraq's history, run the day-to-day business of government.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the
Iraqi government regularly participates in international events.
Since July the Iraqi government has been represented in over two dozen
international meetings, including those of the UN General Assembly,
the Arab League, the World Bank and IMF and, today, the Islamic
Conference Summit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced
that it is reopening over 30 Iraqi embassies around the world.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...Shia
religious festivals that were all but banned, aren't.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... for
the first time in 35 years, in Karbala thousands of Shiites celebrate
the pilgrimage of the 12th Imam.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the
Coalition has completed over 13,000 reconstruction projects, large and
small, as part of (a) strategic plan for the reconstruction of Iraq.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...Uday
and Queasy are dead - and no longer feeding innocent Iraqis to his zoo
lions, raping the young daughters of local leaders to force
cooperation, torturing Iraq's soccer players for losing
games...murdering critics.


Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...children aren't imprisoned or murdered when their parents
disagree with the government.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...political opponents aren't imprisoned, tortured, executed, maimed,
or are forced to watch their families die for disagreeing with Saddam.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...millions of longsuffering Iraqis no longer live in perpetual
terror.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...Saudis
will hold municipal elections.*

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... Qatar
is reforming education to give more choices to parents.*

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...
Jordan is accelerating market economic reforms.*

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... the
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the first time to an Iranian -- a
Muslim woman who speaks out with courage for human rights, for
democracy and for peace.*

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...he
has not faltered or failed.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May
1...Saddam is gone.

Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1... Iraq
is free.

Gawd, what a waste of bandwidth.

Bush, BTW, didn't declare an "end to major combat". He declared an "end to
combat". The White House website changed that language shortly after his
blooper. The truth is, despite the "Mission Accomplished" photo-op blooper,
the real war in Iraq had just begun. Dubya just announced the end to our
"bomb the **** out of them" campaign (you gotta admit, Dubya really got high
on using Clinton's military machinery), but by now clearly never had a clue
about the type of guerilla war he has gotten himself into, with NO exit
strategy whatsoever.

"Sandman" wrote in message

Gawd, what a waste of bandwidth.

Bush, BTW, didn't declare an "end to major combat". He declared an
"end to combat". The White House website changed that language
shortly after his blooper. The truth is, despite the "Mission
Accomplished" photo-op blooper, the real war in Iraq had just begun.

Hindsight is often oh, so good!

Dubya just announced the end to our "bomb the **** out of them"
campaign (you gotta admit, Dubya really got high on using Clinton's
military machinery),

You mean the military machinery that escaped Clinton's best efforts to get
rid of it?

but by now clearly never had a clue about the
type of guerilla war he has gotten himself into, with NO exit
strategy whatsoever.

Now there's a great idea. Tell the world including your enemy how you plan
to end the war. Presumably, the more detail the better.

"Sandman" wrote in message ...
Gawd, what a waste of bandwidth.

Bush, BTW, didn't declare an "end to major combat". He declared an "end to
combat". The White House website changed that language shortly after his
blooper. The truth is, despite the "Mission Accomplished" photo-op blooper,
the real war in Iraq had just begun. Dubya just announced the end to our
"bomb the **** out of them" campaign (you gotta admit, Dubya really got high
on using Clinton's military machinery), but by now clearly never had a clue
about the type of guerilla war he has gotten himself into, with NO exit
strategy whatsoever.

Let's get real -- the left would prefer that Saddam's Socialist regime
was still in place. That's the only possible reason you and your ilk
could willfully ignore all the positive and liberating changes in Iraq
since the overthrow.

Yet you wonder why your party is COMPLETELY out of power and had their
asses handed to them in last year's historic mid-term rout?

Let me know when you get tired of being on the wrong side of history,
chuckles.

"pyjamarama" wrote in message
m
"Sandman" wrote in message
...
Gawd, what a waste of bandwidth.

Bush, BTW, didn't declare an "end to major combat". He declared an
"end to combat". The White House website changed that language
shortly after his blooper. The truth is, despite the "Mission
Accomplished" photo-op blooper, the real war in Iraq had just begun.
Dubya just announced the end to our "bomb the **** out of them"
campaign (you gotta admit, Dubya really got high on using Clinton's
military machinery), but by now clearly never had a clue about the
type of guerilla war he has gotten himself into, with NO exit
strategy whatsoever.

Let's get real -- the left would prefer that Saddam's Socialist regime
was still in place. That's the only possible reason you and your ilk
could willfully ignore all the positive and liberating changes in Iraq
since the overthrow.

Was Saddam's third Reich a socialist regime? I can't see even the drunkest
left-leading democratic party hack wanting to continue it. I think that
since Saddam's regime is out of sight, the Democrats want it to be out of
mind. The basic strategy is to eliminate all of the benefits of your
opponents administration, and twist everything else so it looks like a joke
or a catastrophe.

Yet you wonder why your party is COMPLETELY out of power and had their
asses handed to them in last year's historic mid-term rout?

After reading some of the sites that Sanders deifies, I became struck by the
parallels between presidential elections and RAO posturing.

Let me know when you get tired of being on the wrong side of history,
chuckles.

Sander's got a long track record of being this way. His audio beliefs are no
more rational than his political beliefs.

"Sandman" wrote in message
...
Gawd, what a waste of bandwidth.

Bush, BTW, didn't declare an "end to major combat". He declared an "end
to
combat". The White House website changed that language shortly after his
blooper. The truth is, despite the "Mission Accomplished" photo-op
blooper,
the real war in Iraq had just begun. Dubya just announced the end to our
"bomb the **** out of them" campaign (you gotta admit, Dubya really got
high
on using Clinton's military machinery),

There is Clinton miltary machinery.

but by now clearly never had a clue
about the type of guerilla war he has gotten himself into, with NO exit
strategy whatsoever.

The strategy has always been the same, we'll leave when Iraq is secure and
democratic.

"Michael McKelvy" wrote in message
...

"Sandman" wrote in message
...
Gawd, what a waste of bandwidth.

Bush, BTW, didn't declare an "end to major combat". He declared an "end
to
combat". The White House website changed that language shortly after
his
blooper. The truth is, despite the "Mission Accomplished" photo-op
blooper,
the real war in Iraq had just begun. Dubya just announced the end to
our
"bomb the **** out of them" campaign (you gotta admit, Dubya really got
high
on using Clinton's military machinery),

There is Clinton miltary machinery.

That should read: there is NO Clinton military machinery!

but by now clearly never had a clue
about the type of guerilla war he has gotten himself into, with NO exit
strategy whatsoever.

The strategy has always been the same, we'll leave when Iraq is secure and
democratic.