In a private session with lawmakers, ... Mr. Bush conceded the war is "sapping our soul," but he said he intended to pursue his plan to send more troops to Iraq.
When you search for "sapping our soul", Google asks in reply, "Did you mean: shaping our soul?" Yes, yes, that's it. Iraq situation 'winnable,' official says "Each time I travel outside the International Zone, I’m amazed that virtually every house in Baghdad has a satellite dish on the roof."
Taken on its own, you might be inclined to see this as an astute observation about the complexity of executing a "hearts and minds" campaign in the information age ... and the difficulty faced by the coalition in competing with other voices to be heard on the Iraqi 'street'. But, no. To him, this is a "positive sign", evidence of a "post-Saddam boom". He seems to have no clue what they're watching ... how is that possible, when the material is so readily accessible? A sample, from a recent interview with Hassan Nasrallah: I have said on several occasions that our [Zionist] enemy possesses some aspects that I wish we possessed - or that our countries or governments possessed. For example... I even praised Sharon once. I said that although this man is a criminal, a killer, a butcher, and a blood-shedder, there is something positive about the Zionists: They do not abandon their prisoners, and they do not abandon even their prisoners’ bodies, or their remains, even 50 or 60 years after their deaths. This is a positive aspect that you must respect in your enemy. That is why they continue to follow this issue. In Lebanon, for example, there were many prisoners, and nobody ever asked about them, and if you did ask about them, you would get punished. At any rate, this is a positive aspect about the enemy. ... We believe that the solution in Iraq begins with adopting the option of armed resistance - Jihad against the occupation forces. This is my opinion.
Defense Leaders: Iraq Debate Focuses Not on Whether to Win, But How "It’s a very complex issue, and putting a bumper sticker on it really doesn’t help solve the problem,” Pace said. “The question is, ‘Where are we? Where should we be? And how do we get from where we are to where we’re supposed to be? And that is what the new plan is all about."
DoD News Briefing with Secretary Gates and Gen. Pace from Pentagon Good morning. I am announcing today that I've recommended to the president two officers to key leadership positions in the nation's unified command structure. Lieutenant General Gene Renuart, who is currently senior military assistant to the secretary of Defense, will be nominated for a fourth star and the command of Northern Command. General Renuart commanded a fire squadron during the first Gulf War, and was director of operations for Central Command during the planning and execution of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. ... Q: Mr. Secretary, can we just ask you about the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, which has been released? And according to a section of that, it says that the term "civil war" accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict. And the administration and this department has resisted that definition before, just as it also resisted saying there was an insurgency in Iraq. I guess the question is, do you now accept that there is a civil war in Iraq ...? SEC. GATES: ... I think it oversimplifies it. It's a bumper sticker answer to what's going on in Iraq. GEN. PACE: If I could just add, one very important part is that the same analysts who worked so hard on the National Intelligence Estimate that came out today are the same analysts who provided input throughout the course of the planning for the decisions that the president made.
Take that, you back-stabbing eggheads! Not it, not it! ... Gates: ... it seems to me everybody's getting wrapped around the axle on what to call this ...
I'm not sure what to make of this, but the overwhelming response to that Google search is "What Are You So Afraid Of?", an article from 2004 by SFGate columnist Mark Morford: Oh my God but we are one terrified nation. Fear is in. Fear is the new black. Fear is everywhere. Fear is a tactic. It is a calculated force, a strategic maneuver, a carefully constructed PR methodology. Fear has no patience for common sense ... Fear is why we pummel the weak, hate the different, cling to uptight religious doctrine that we know, deep down, is sapping our soul and crushing our independent thought and numbing our sexual potency. Fear means never having to dig very deep, never having to ask serious questions of the self.
Bush Meets With Democrats on Their Turf | 
