Talking Points Memo: Insurgent Attacks On Troops Occur "Every 15 Minutes"

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http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/010016.php

Changing horses in mid-stream? This is from the press release for an interview with Bob Woodward on 60 Minutes ...

Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq. He also reveals key intelligence that predicts the insurgency will grow worse next year. Wallace’s interview with Woodward will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Oct. 1 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

According to Woodward, insurgent attacks against coalition troops occur, on average, every 15 minutes, a shocking fact the administration has kept secret. “It’s getting to the point now where there are eight, 900 attacks a week. That’s more than a hundred a day. That is four an hour attacking our forces,” says Woodward.

The situation is getting much worse, says Woodward, despite what the White House and the Pentagon are saying in public. “The truth is that the assessment by intelligence experts is that next year, 2007, is going to get worse and, in public, you have the president and you have the Pentagon , ‘Oh, no, things are going to get better,’” he tells Wallace. “Now there’s public, and then there’s private. But what did they do with the private? They stamp it secret. No one is supposed to know,” says Woodward.

Just speaking for myself, I think it's a little late in the day for Woodward to hop off the Bush bandwagon. But on the merits of what he's saying it's not a surprise. This is why it's important to keep pressing for that NIE. The president and his advisors are lying through their teeth about what's happening in Iraq and they're covering up key information that voters should know. They're preventing it from coming out before the November election.

-- Josh Marshall

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