John Murtha was right about Bush when he opined that just because they say something doesn't make it true. In fact, actions speak louder than words with the Bush crowd. Case in point is the democracy effort in Iraq. They're all about democracy in Iraq until someone has to pay for it:
While President Bush vows to transform Iraq into a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, his administration has been scaling back funding for the main organizations trying to carry out his vision by building democratic institutions such as political parties and civil society groups.It's going to be tough to get all those good news stories from Iraq if there aren't any institutions that can actually do good.
The administration has included limited new money for traditional democracy promotion in budget requests to Congress. Some organizations face funding cutoffs this month, while others struggle to stretch resources through the summer. The shortfall threatens projects that teach Iraqis how to create and sustain political parties, think tanks, human rights groups, independent media outlets, trade unions and other elements of democratic society.
If you have any doubts about the callousness of the Bush team, take a cue from Freedom House where Bush gave one of his rah-rah Iraq speeches last week:
Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, an advocacy group that hosted a Bush speech last week, called the situation "a travesty" and said she is "appalled" that more is not being done. "This is the time to show that democracy promotion is more than holding an election. If the U.S. can't see fit to fund follow-up democracy promotion at this time," then it is making a mistake, she said.Is there anything about the Bush Iraq policy that isn't a appalling or a travesty?
