Baghdad's George Bush Square

One year ago today, September 22, 2003, Richard Perle, noted neocom and advisor to the Bush Administration gave a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. In it he scolds the government of Turkey for not having the foresight to join the coalition of the willing. And he provides his own assessment of the Bush policy in Iraq. You should read the whole piece to get acquainted with the Bush Administraton policy of sugar coating the facts. Here are some priceless nuggets:

"It's a pity that Turkey wasn't alongside us going into Iraq, not least of all because there are such important Turkish interests next door. I think it might have been different if it had been understood in Turkey that this was a war that would be over in three weeks with hardly any casualties, hardly any Iraqi casualties."

"...basic infrastructure was carefully protected."

And the topper:

"And a year from now, I'll be very surprised if there is not some grand square in Baghdad that is named after President Bush. There is no doubt that, with the exception of a very small number of people close to a vicious regime, the people of Iraq have been liberated and they understand that they've been liberated. And it is getting easier every day for Iraqis to express that sense of liberation."