Of course Mr. McMahon and the Democratic party care deeply about me, I'm just sure that's why they send me this stuff (along with the ever present plead for money).

Dear Tracy,

President Bush and the Republicans in Congress have been telling us to wait for the so-called "Petraeus Report" for months before we change the course in Iraq. Now with relentless bloodshed and no political solution in sight, President Bush wants more time for his failed war.

All summer, Republicans have used the so-called "Petraeus Report" to delay dealing with growing anti-war sentiment.

In June, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said:

"I think everybody anticipates that there's going to be a new strategy in the fall. I don't think we'll have the same level of troops, in all likelihood, that we have now. The Iraqis will have to step up, not only on the political side, but on the military side, to a greater extent. We're not there forever. I think they understand that, and the time to properly evaluate that, it strikes me, is in September."

And in July, President Bush said,

"I welcome a good, honest debate about the consequences of failure, the consequences of success in this war. But I believe that it's in this nation's interests to give the commander a chance to fully implement his operations. I believe Congress ought to wait for Gen. Petraeus to come back and give his assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions."

This week, General Petraeus testified before Congress, asking for more time. He wants to wait until March to make recommendations about bringing our troops home.

According to the Washington Post, many experts have questioned data behind the general's optimistic assessment of the war, accusing the Pentagon of "cherry-picking positive indicators." Even in December 2006, the Iraq Study Group reported "significant under-reporting of violence."

In fact, this has been the bloodiest summer for American soldiers since the war began.

And when it comes to the Iraqi government, there's even less progress. The surge was supposed to help give breathing room in the political process, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that two and a half years after the first election, the Iraqi government has met just three of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress.

Kenneth Katzman, author of a report for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, put it this way:

"My assessment is that because of the number and breadth of parties boycotting the cabinet, the Iraqi government is in essential collapse. That argues against any real prospects for political reconciliation."

President Bush cherry-picked intelligence to make his initial case for war over four years ago.

Since then he has stifled dissent and distorted the truth to sell his failing strategy to the rest of us.

The Republicans accuse Democrats of setting arbitrary dates for withdrawal -- but it's the Republicans who set arbitrary dates for delay.

Sincerely,

Tom McMahon
Executive Director