Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi spoke to a joint session of Congress this morning, telling the gathered representatives that Iraq could hold free elections in 15 of 18 provinces and thanking them for freeing Iraq from the grip of a murderous thug:

Offering a simple, ``Thank you America,'' Iraqi interim prime minister Ayad Allawi declared Thursday that his country is moving successfully past the war that ousted Saddam Hussein and vowed that elections will take place next year as scheduled.

``Elections will occur in Iraq on time in January because Iraqis want elections on time,'' Allawi told a joint meeting of Congress, an appearance that President Bush's advisers hoped would ease American voters' doubts about the troubled campaign in Iraq.

Allawi told lawmakers that the Iraqi insurgency intended on disrupting elections, but that they were small in number and their efforts had not and would not resonate with the Iraqi people. In his effort to defeat the insurgency, Allawi reported that he and his interim caretaker government would continue to reach out to a broad political spectrum for involvement in the democratic process, likely a reference to Allawi's deal with Moqtada al-Sadr, in order to prevent violence.

The AP (reprinted here in the New York Times) couldn't resist the opportunity to insert analysis into what should have been a straightforward report of the speech. In the summary, the AP refers to a recent NIE and remarks made by three Republican senators this week, even though they have little to do with the context of Allawi's appearance:

An assessment of Iraq's future put together recently by U.S. intelligence officials spoke of possibilities ranging from tenuous stability to civil war, and even some senators in Bush's Republican Party have said there is a need for more candid talk from the White House.

First, estimates are designed to review all possibilities, especialluy those with potentially negative impact on our national security. Such a document would waste little time discussing the impact of stability in any sense, and would necessarily review the impact of all other statuses. Second, the conclusion of the article has nothing to do with the rest of the story, and demonstrates yet again the futility of looking to the AP for objectivity in its news reporting.

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» Kerry gives more cover to the Iraqi insurgents from Secure Liberty
Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi gave a speech to a joint session of Congress today, where he offered his thanks to the United States and identified some of the things that are going right in Iraq. From Allawi: "Today, we are better off, you are better off,... [Read More]

Tracked on September 23, 2004 1:00 PM

» Kerry's idea of diplomacy from Posse Incitatus
The Kerry Spot over on National Review is all over this stuff. For those who don't know, Iyad Allawi, the Interim Prime Minister of Iraq, delivered a stirring address to a join session of Congress today. It was an historic [Read More]

Tracked on September 23, 2004 2:39 PM