Deja Vu: When Have We Heard of this 'Significant Progress in Iraq' Before?

Posted by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report at 7:21 AM on April 11, 2008.

Note from PEEK Guest Editor Joshua H: I wrote a very similar post about "milestones" and "turning points" when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in 2006. Brilliant minds and all that ...

This morning, speaking from the White House, the president boasted, "American and Iraqi forces have made significant progress" in Iraq. It got me thinking, haven't we heard that phrase before in relation to Iraq?

* White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on October 27, 2003: "In the north and south [of Iraq], we have made significant progress."

* President Bush on November 13, 2004: "Fighting together, our forces have made significant progress in the last several days."

* President Bush on June 28, 2005: "In the past year, we have made significant progress."

* Vice President Cheney on October 19, 2006: "[W]e've made significant progress."

* President Bush on February 23, 2007: " I think we have made significant progress in Iraq."

Indeed, it's a phrase the White House has used to describe events in Iraq several hundred times over the last five years. I can't imagine why anyone would be skeptical about the claim now.

And as long as we're on the subject of this morning's speech, Bush also announced today:

"To ease the burden on our troops and their families, I've directed the Secretary of Defense to reduce deployment lengths from 15 months to 12 months for all active Army soldiers deploying to the Central Command area of operations. These changes will be effective for those deploying after August 1st. We'll also ensure that our Army units will have at least a year home for every year in the field."

This sounds familiar, too, in large part because Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) was recommending this change in policy last year.

At the time, one of Webb's colleagues said Webb's proposal would "emasculate" the surge policy, "could easily bring about ... defeat," and lead to "chaos and genocide" in the region. The colleague, of course, was John McCain.

Tagged as: bush, iraq, propaganda, mccain

Steve Benen is a freelance writer/researcher and creator of The Carpetbagger Report. In addition, he is the lead editor of Salon.com's Blog Report, and has been a contributor to Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Crooks & Liars, The American Prospect, and the Guardian.