Guest guest Posted August 9, 2004 Report Share Posted August 9, 2004 > Mon, 09 Aug 2004 09:06:49 -0700 > Progress Report (corrected): Broken > Promises of George W. Bush > " American Progress Action Fund " > <progress > Center for American Progress - Progress Report by David Sirota, Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin August 9, 2004 CREDIBILITY The Broken Promises of George W. Bush TERRORISM Destroying a Key Source ECONOMY Bush in Denial UNDER THE RADAR You may have received The Progress Report twice today. This version includes a link to our#160; Rhetoric vs. Reality#160;document. We#160;apologize for any inconvenience. CREDIBILITY The Broken Promises of George W. Bush President Bush is slowly unveiling his agenda, should he be re-elected, for a second term. Already Bush has promised to increase high school graduation rates and expand access to health care. Can the American people trust that Bush will follow through? A new document by the American Progress Action Fund reveals that, on a slew of issues #8211; from education to taxes to the environment #8211; Bush has broken the explicit promises he made the American people in the last Presidential campaign. The document is based, in large part, on promises made on an archived version of Bush's official campaign website. Check out the complete document here. TERRORISM Destroying a Key Source Last week, U.S. officials revealed their major terror warning #8211; timed one week after the Democratic National Convention #8211; was based on old information. Now, it appears that the Bush administration was so eager to reap political gain from the war on terror, it exposed an undercover al Qaeda mole who was providing authorities with key leads to nab the terrorist group's top leadership. According to MSNBC, Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, the suspect whose computer information led to the recent increased terror warning level, " had been actively cooperating with intelligence agents to help catch al-Qaida operatives. " The Bush administration told reporters Khan was the source of the information that led to the terror alert level being raised. " By exposing the only deep mole we've ever had within al Qaeda, it ruined the chance to capture dozens if not hundreds more, " said former Justice Department prosecutor John Loftus. All told, more than a third of Americans now believe the Bush administration would use terror warnings for its own political gain. RICE ADMITS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION LEAKED: On CNN's Late Edition, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice admitted it was the Bush administration #8211; not career intelligence officers #8211; who opted to leak Khan's name. Rice tried to defend the White House by saying they only disclosed the name " on background. " When Sen. George Allen (R-VA) tried to spin the leak later in the show, CNN's Wolf Blitzer reminded him that Rice " confirmed that on background " the administration " did release the name of this Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan. " See more American Progress analysis of current Administration terrorism policies here. DISCLOSURE VIOLATES JUSTICE DEPT'S OWN POSITION: The Bush administration's deliberate disclosure of Khan's name directly violated the Justice Department's own stated position on such matters. In the Supreme Court case in which the department tried to keep detainee names secret, its top terrorism prosecutor filed an affidavit outlining the administration's opposition to such disclosure. In the affidavit, the administration said disclosing names of those " who may be revealed to have knowledge of or a connection to terrorism could lead to the public identification of individuals associated with them " and that " divulging the detainees' identities may deter them from cooperating with the Department of Justice. " The affidavit also said such disclosures " could allow terrorist organizations and others to interfere with the pending proceedings by creating false or misleading evidence. " KHAN'S OUTING MAY HAVE HAMPERED BRITISH INVESTIGATION: MSNBC reported that, " In addition to ending the Pakistani sting, the premature disclosure of Khan's identity may have affected a major British operation in which 12 suspects were arrested in raids this week. " The London Telegraph reported, " British intelligence officials said American leaks had left them scrambling to pick up Khan's British-based contacts. " BRITS AND PAKISTANIS ARE OUTRAGED: The New York Daily News reports, " British and Pakistani intelligence officials are furious " with the Bush administration " for unmasking their super spy - apparently to justify the orange alert - and for naming the other captured terrorist suspects. " Pakistani Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat " expressed dismay the trap they had hoped would lead to the capture of other top Al Qaeda leaders, possibly even Osama Bin Laden, was sprung too soon. " Pakistan, of course, had been under intense pressure by the Bush administration to produce " high value terrorist targets " during the Democratic convention. Similarly, a British security official said the disclosure " makes our job harder " as British Home Secretary David Blunkett lashed out at the administration for its behavior. INDEPENDENT INTELLIGENCE EXPERTS DISMAYED: Tim Ripley, security expert for Jane's Defense publications, said, " The whole thing smacks of either incompetence or worse. You have to ask: what are they doing compromising a deep mole within al Qaeda, when it's so difficult to get these guys in there in the first place? It goes against all the rules of counter-espionage [and] counter-terrorism. " Rolf Tophoven, head of the Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy in Essen, Germany, commented that allowing Khan's name to become public was " very unclever " and said " it's another debacle. " ECONOMY Bush in Denial On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered the bad news: employers added just 32,000 jobs in July. It was " the fourth consecutive month in which the pace of job growth has slowed. " Over the last three months, the economy has added an average of 106,000 jobs, " well below the 150,000 monthly pace analysts say is needed to keep up with population growth. " #160;In the context of weakened GDP growth and declining consumer spending, during the second quarter, the job numbers signal " the economic recovery [has] lost steam this summer. " How did President Bush react to the news? Campaigning in New Hampshire, Bush insisted, " we have a strong economy and it is getting stronger. " WORSE 'RECOVERY' SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION: Overall, the economy has lost 1.2 million jobs since March 2001. It is the " greatest sustained job loss since the Great Depression. " Had job growth simply met the average of previous recoveries " today's labor market would have 6.2 million more jobs. " #160; NEW JOBS PAY LESS: According to economic analysts, " the evidence increasingly suggests that the current recovery has indeed been tilted toward lower-paying jobs. " According to the economic research firm Economy.com, " industries ranked in the bottom fifth for wages and salaries have added 477,000 jobs since January, while industries in the top fifth for wages had no increase at all. " During the last year, average hourly wages for all workers have fallen slightly once adjusted for inflation. But among workers that have recently been displaced, " 57 percent of those who had found work were earning less than they did in their old jobs. " TAX CUTS HAVEN'T DELIVERED AS PROMISED: The president's Council of Economic Advisers projected that the administration's latest tax cut package " would result in the creation of...306,000 new jobs each month starting in July 2003. " Since the tax cuts took effect, " there are 2,565,000 fewer jobs than the administration projected would be created by enactment of its tax cuts. " Apparently, Bush is unfazed by the data. At an event on Thursday, he said, " one of the reasons why our economy is strong and getting stronger is because of tax relief. " MINUMUM WAGE #8211; CALLING ALL NEW YORKERS: On July 21, the New York State Legislature, by bi-partisan veto-proof majorities in both houses (51-7 in the Senate and 116-19 in the Assembly), passed a bill to raise New York's minimum wage. When Gov. George Pataki promptly vetoed the bill, most New Yorkers expected a swift override. State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick), however, is dragging his feet, saying the legislature has better things to do. A comprehensive analysis published by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan New York State think tank, indicates that raising New York's minimum wage would directly benefit an estimated 700,000 low-wage workers and their families while " help[ing] improve the functioning of the New York economy#8230; encourag[ing] more efficient business practices and level[ing] the competitive playing field for businesses already paying better wages. " If you're a New Yorker, tell Bruno and others in the New York State Legislature to override Pataki's veto and raise New York's minimum wage. MEDIA #8211; O'REILLY HURLS RACIAL/RELIGIOUS INSULTS: In the last few days, it appears Fox News' Bill O'Reilly has outdone even his own previous efforts to insult people. On Thursday, O'Reilly denigrated Muslims, in an effort to attack the new movie Outfoxed. Debating reporter Alex Ben Block, O'Reilly equated the term " Muslim " to other denigrating labels, as if it were an insult: " I could make you, Mr. Block, look like a communist, a fascist, a Muslim, or a mud-wrestling woman. " Then in a debate this weekend with New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, O'Reilly equated a nonprofit organization with a racist organization for having the nerve to publicize his most offensive quotes. When Krugman read O'Reilly one of those quotes, O'Reilly said they were transcribed by Media Matters, which he said is " like me calling some Klan operation. " Though O'Reilly did not dispute that the quote was accurate, he said, " Why don't I call the Ku Klux Klan? " IRAQ #8211; NEOCON DARLING A WANTED MAN: In seven short months, Ahmad Chalabi has gone from being President Bush's special guest at the State of the Union (seated behind First Lady Laura Bush) to having an arrest warrant hanging over his head. An Iraqi judge issued an arrest warrant for the former darling of the Bush administration for counterfeiting Iraqi currency and money laundering. (He also has been under investigation for passing U.S. secrets to Iran.) His nephew, Salem Chalabi, the chief prosecutor in the case against Saddam Hussein, has also been charged with participation in the June murder of an Iraqi official who had been investigating the Chalabi family and the Iraqi National Congress for illegally seizing hundreds of properties after the U.S.-led invasion last year. The Los Angeles Times reports, " Supporters like Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz were not available for comment. " ENVIRO #8211; FOX IN THE (cough cough) HENHOUSE YET AGAIN: The New York Times examines the Bush administration's decidedly snug relationship with the coal industry. The Bush White House has repeatedly " abandoned a series of Clinton-era safety proposals favored by coal miners while embracing others favored by mine owners. " The trick: Employ former coal industry big shots in the government and let them roll back safety regulations. Here's an example of how this works: #160; " In 1997, as a top executive of a Utah mining company, David Lauriski proposed a measure that could allow some operators to let coal-dust levels rise substantially in mines. The plan went nowhere in the government. Last year, it found enthusiastic backing from one government official - Mr. Lauriski himself. Now head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, he revived the proposal despite objections by union officials and health experts that it could put miners at greater risk of black-lung disease. " ECONOMY #8211; WAL-MART IS NO BARGAIN: CBS News reports Americans are paying a stiff price for bargains at the mega corporation Wal-Mart. According to a recent University of California, Berkeley study, Wal-Mart actually takes a lot more from communities than it gives back#160; in low prices. " Because of the low wages and because people do not have health insurance through their employer, people rely on public support to make ends meet, " says the school's Ken Jacobs. In California, taxpayers pay an estimated $82-million a year to take care of health care, food stamps, and other social services for Wal-Mart employees. #160;Don't Miss DAILY TALKING POINTS: White House Leak Compromises Fight Against Al Qaeda TERRORISM: In the NYT, Center for American Progress shows how the $144 billion spent in Iraq could have been used to make us safer. TERRORISM: Foreign Affairs examines why the United States remains vulnerable #160;to terrorist attack in " The Neglected Homefront. " PRISON ABUSE: Lawyers in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse trial want Vice President Cheney to take the stand. Contact The Progress Report. #160;Daily Grill " [Chalabi] is by far the most capable Iraqi... He's going to have to prove himself in the electoral process. And I've got a lot of confidence that he will succeed. " - Richard Perle, 6/1/04 VERSUS " Iraq has issued arrest warrants for Ahmad Chalabi, a former Governing Council member with strong U.S. ties, on counterfeiting charges. " -#160;Newsday, 8/9/04 #160;Daily Outrage Bill O'Reilly compares media watchdog group MediaMatters to Ku Klux Klan. #160;Archives Progress Report #160;Opportunity The Center for American Progress is now accepting intern applications for the fall semester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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