Progress Report: More Tough Questions

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Fri, 08 Oct 2004 09:31:01 -0700

Progress Report: More Tough Questions

" American Progress Action Fund "

<progress

 

by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin

OCTOBER 8, 2004

 

AFGHANISTAN A Country On The Brink

DEBATE More Tough Questions

FLIP-FLOP Our List Is Better Than Their List

UNDER THE RADAR Go Beyond The Headlines

 

 

AFGHANISTAN

A Country On The Brink

 

Afghanistan stands on the brink of historic and important elections,

scheduled to take place tomorrow, Oct. 9. Despite this positive

development, Afghanistan today remains a country in crisis. Opium

production is booming, Taliban, al Qaeda and warlord forces rule the

entire country outside of the capital city of Kabul, and the Afghan

people face daily struggles for existence. Just yesterday, the country

erupted in pockets of sporadic violence, " highlighting the risks posed

by Taliban militants who have vowed to disrupt the vote. " In many

ways, " security threats are more serious now than a year ago, posing a

continuing concern in what remains a key front in the U.S.-declared

war on terrorism. " James Dobbins, President Bush's former envoy to

Afghanistan, says while the Afghan elections " are a relative bright

spot, " they have to be understood in a picture that has some very

serious dark sides: " The security situation is not getting better. And

I don't know if it can be reversed. " (For more on Afghanistan, a

country in crisis, see this American Progress backgrounder.)

 

TALIBAN THREAT: Two weeks ago, President Bush announced, " [The]

Taliban no longer is in existence. " He was egregiously mistaken. The

Taliban may not be in power in Kabul, but they have been making a

steady comeback throughout the countryside. The Afghan death toll

attributed to the Taliban rose by 45 percent this year, and more than

40 election workers have been killed or wounded by the Taliban in the

past four months. Moreover, as a new paper commissioned by the Center

for American Progress, " Security in Afghanistan: The Continuing

Challenge, " warns, the Taliban " continue to enjoy substantial support

in the provinces and tribal areas along the Afghanistan-Pakistan

border, regardless of enhanced efforts in 2004 by the Pakistani

government to cooperate with the United States in the counter-terror

fight. "

 

AL QAEDA THREAT: Senior members of al Qaeda, including Osama bin Laden

and his top deputy, remain at large. Last month, Maj. Gen. Eric Olson

stated, " [t]here are senior leaders of al [Qaeda] that are working

through operatives in Afghanistan…They are involved in planning and in

some cases directing attacks inside of Afghanistan. "

 

WARLORD THREAT: Much of the country remains in the firm grasp of

warlords, creating a culture of violence and instability. In fact,

Karzai has called private militias the top threat facing Afghanistan.

The administration's Afghanistan strategy may be to blame: " Many

experts believe that a critical turning point came for the United

States in 2002, when American officials discouraged proposals for

international peacekeeping forces. Experts said the decision left

militia commanders in a strong position. Money and arms the U.S.

commanders gave the warlords for their help against the Taliban

enabled the fighting groups to gain even greater independence from the

new government. "

 

DRUG THREAT: Economically, Afghans " are doing twice as well as they

were when the U.S. invasion took place. " Most of the economic growth,

however, is thanks to the opium industry, which accounts for 75

percent of the world's supply and is set to break all records this

year. " Robert B. Charles, assistant U.S. secretary of State for

international narcotics and law enforcement, recently called the drug

threat 'a dark shadow' over the country. " Over the past two years,

" drugs poured $4.8 billion into the Afghan economy, 70% more than the

$2.8 billion from foreign aid. " And that's money in the pockets of

terrorists: the billion-dollar industry helps finance terrorism, with

funds empowering al Qaeda and the Taliban as well as Afghan warlords

and militias. Furthermore, as a new paper commissioned by the Center,

" Road to Ruin: Afghanistan's Booming Opium Industry, " warns, " the drug

industry is in danger of becoming further militarized and integrated

with the political system. "

 

PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE: Afghans remains a people in crisis. The Los

Angeles Times reports this morning, " Afghan women still suffer the

highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the world, according to

the World Bank. Less than 20% of Afghans have access to safe drinking

water, only 6% have electricity, and half suffer from chronic

malnutrition. "

 

IGNORED FOR IRAQ: The United States diverted attention, time and money

away from Afghanistan to Iraq. " The 18,000 troops of the U.S.

contingent in Afghanistan are far fewer than the 138,000 in Iraq. " The

administration is spending $2.2 billion on reconstruction in

Afghanistan this year, an amount " dwarfed by the $18.4 billion

appropriated for the reconstruction of Iraq, a country with roughly as

many people. "

 

DEBATE

More Tough Questions

 

Bush has been preparing for tonight's townhall-style debate for the

entire campaign. At 19 " Ask President Bush " events, he has fielded

probing questions from an audience which – his handlers insist – has

not been prescreened. Some examples: " I was wondering if you would

permit me the honor of giving our Commander-in-Chief a real Navy

salute? " " I was just wondering what your favorite book is, because I'd

like to read it? " " I was wondering if I could take a picture with

you? " Tonight's questions, however, are more likely to focus on jobs,

Iraq, healthcare, taxes and education. Here is your pre-debate primer

on what Bush will say and what you should know.

 

FACT – BUSH'S JOBS RECORD IS AN EMBARRASSMENT: Bush will say " the

economy is strong and getting stronger. " But the economy added a

paltry 96,000 jobs in September, once again failing even to keep up

with population growth. Since the president took office in January

2001, the economy has shed about 585,000 jobs. President Bush is a

lock to become the first president since Herbert Hoover to have a net

loss of jobs over a four-year term.

 

FACT – THE DUELFER REPORT UNDERMINES A KEY RATIONALE FOR WAR: Bush

will say that the recently released report by chief U.S. weapons

inspector Charles A. Duelfer bolstered his rationale for war.

Yesterday, Bush said the Duelfer report proved Saddam Hussein

" retained the knowledge, the materials, the means and the intent to

produce weapons of mass destruction...and he could have passed that

knowledge on to our terrorist enemies. " That claim is highly

misleading. The Duelfer report establishes that Saddam " did not

produce or possess any weapons of mass destruction for more than a

decade before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year. " Moreover,

Duelfer found " no evidence that Hussein had passed illicit weapons

material to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations, or had any

intent to do so. "

 

FACT – BUSH'S TAX CUTS WERE A MASSIVE GIVEAWAY TO THE RICH: Bush will

say that his tax cuts " left more money in the hands of American

workers so they could save, spend, invest, and help drive this economy

forward. " In fact, Bush's tax cuts overwhelmingly benefited the very

wealthy. For example, Americans with incomes averaging $1.2 million

per year have received a tax cut of $78,460. By contrast, households

in the middle 20 percent, with incomes averaging $57,000 per year,

have received an average cut of $1,090. One-third of all the benefits

went to the top 1 percent of all earners. Meanwhile, " 9.2 million

working families in the United States – one out of every four – earn

wages that are so low they are barely able to survive financially. "

 

FACT – BUSH CREATED A $5.2 TRILLION TAX GAP: Bush will say, " it is the

job of a President to confront problems, not pass them on to future

Presidents and future generations. " Yet, in four years, Bush " has

turned a $5.6 trillion surplus into $5.2 trillion deficit. " His tax

cuts are a big part of the problem. For example, even as corporate

profits have soared 40 percent over the last four years, tax revenue

from corporations has decreased. For more on the deterioration of

America's fiscal situation, read this report by America Progress's

Scott Lilly, mentioned in today's New York Times.

 

FACT – TORT REFORM WILL NOT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE HEALTH CARE COSTS:

Bush will say that the way to make health care more affordable is " by

doing something about these frivolous lawsuits that are running good

doctors out of business and running your costs up. " But the

non-partisan CBO has found that even legislation dramatically limiting

the ability of patients to recover damages when their doctor commits

malpractice would lower heath costs by one-half of one percent.

 

FACT – BUSH LEFT THE FUNDING FOR HIS EDUCATION PROGRAM BEHIND: Bush

will stress the success of the No Child Left Behind program. Keep this

in mind: 1) Bush underfunded the program by $9.4 billion, 2) Due to

funding shortages 11 states will get less federal education money this

year than they did last year, and 3) Because the Bush administration

has " failed to give adequate guidance to help states comply with the

goals of NCLB, " twenty-four states have still not completed plans to

fully comply with the law.

 

FLIP-FLOP

Our List Is Better Than Their List

 

In this month's New Republic, Jonathan Chait follows the evolution of

the " flip-flop " in this year's presidential campaign. Analyzing 37

Kerry " flip-flops " listed on the Bush campaign website, Chait

concludes only six are " legitimate reversals " – meaning, " an attempt

to abandon a politically unpopular stance. " By this count, Chait

writes, " defining flipflopping as the essence of Kerry's nature is

ridiculous. " Chait compares Kerry's list of flip-flops to " those of

noted Man of Principle George W. Bush, " based on a list compiled by

American Progress. Of the 30 flip-flops we list on our site, according

to Chait, " 13 are indisputable reversals. " Chait writes, " You could

debate which man has flip-flopped more. But one thing is clear: If a

stranger unfamiliar with the campaign examined the two men's records,

he would never conclude that Kerry is a serial flip-flopper and Bush

is the embodiment of consistency. "

 

 

Under the Radar

 

IRAQ – LUGAR AND HAGEL POUND BUSH INCOMPETENCE: Senior senators from

President Bush's own party continue to pound the White House for the

slow pace of reconstruction in Iraq. Among those harshly criticizing

the White House at a hearing Tuesday were the two top Republicans on

the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN)

and Chuck Hagel (R-NE). Of the $18.4 billion Congress approved last

year for Iraqi reconstruction, only $1.14 billion has been spent

because of violence, corruption and bureaucracy: Hagel called that

record 'beyond pitiful and embarrassing; it is now in the zone of

dangerous.' " Lugar, " not usually given to strong rhetoric, said the

failure to inject funds into the Iraqi economy quickly was

'exasperating for anybody looking at this from any vantage point.' "

 

EDUCATION – LYNNE CHENEY DECIDES HISTORY CURRICULUM FOR KIDS: Lynne

Cheney has won a battle to ensure booklets designed for parents to

help their children learn history emphasize " American achievements " to

her satisfaction. According to the LA Times, upon Cheney's request,

" The Education Department this summer destroyed more than 300,000

copies " of the booklets, after Cheney complained they included

references to the National Standards for History, which she has long

opposed. The National Standards for History were created in the

mid-1990s by scholars and educators to help school officials design

better history courses. But, at the time, Ms. Cheney " led a vociferous

campaign complaining that the standards were not positive enough about

America's achievements and paid too little attention to figures such

as Gen. Robert E. Lee, Paul Revere and Thomas Edison. " Retired UCLA

professor Gary Nash, who helped develop the standards, said destroying

the booklets was " a pretty god-awful example of spending the

taxpayers' money and also a pretty god-awful example of interference —

intellectual interference. "

 

HOMELAND SECURITY – CYBERSECURITY CHIEF RESIGNS…AGAIN: Computer Weekly

reports the head of cybersecurity efforts at the U.S. Department of

Homeland Security (DHS), Amit Yoran, has resigned " because of a lack

of priority for cybersecurity within DHS. " He was reportedly so upset

with the lack of attention the area was receiving from the Bush

administration that he gave just one day's notice. The resignation is

especially troubling given new reports that al Qaeda and other

terrorists, denied their home base in Afghanistan, are increasingly

dependent on the Internet. The Taipei Times reports that al Qaeda has

a " virtual university " that teaches " electronic jihad. " Yoran is the

second U.S. cybersecurity czar to resign in less than two years over

frustration with the Bush administration's lack of support. " In

January 2003, White House cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke resigned,

citing frustration with the Bush administration's lack of progress in

cybersecurity. "

 

LIBYA – THE PROFITS OF DISARMAMENT: As in Iraq, Halliburton is leading

the pack of U.S. oil companies profiting handsomely from disarmament

in Libya. Petroleum World reports, with national leader Moammar

Gadhafi dramatically boosting oil production, " Which U.S. oil services

giant corporation looks best placed to reap the bonanza? None other

than Halliburton… Halliburton, formerly helmed by Vice President Dick

Cheney, has quietly held prime position in Tripoli all along. Even in

the days of the U.S. embargo on Libya, they maintained their presence

there operating through their German subsidiary. " Cheney not only did

business with Libya while it was on the U.S. terror watch list, he

lobbied for the U.S. to lift the anti-terror sanctions which prevented

him from doing even more business. He called the sanctions, which were

largely responsible for Gadhafi's decision to let inspectors back in,

" ineffective…a bad policy. "

 

CONGRESS – GROUPS ASK DELAY TO RESIGN: The Hill reports, " House

Democrats and government watchdog groups called on House Majority

Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) to step down from his leadership post after

being admonished by the ethics committee twice over the last seven

days. " Four government watchdog groups joined some prominent Democrats

in calling for DeLay to resign as majority leader during a joint

conference call with reporters yesterday. House Minority Leader Nancy

Pelosi (D-CA) said, " DeLay has proven himself to be ethically unfit to

lead his party. " Republicans continue to bemoan the " politicization of

the ethics process, " even though the panel which rebuked DeLay was

composed of five Democrats and five Republicans.