Re: quotation du jour

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Jul 19, 2006, at 11:17 AM, Jim Devine wrote:

> "The situation [in Iraq] seems far more stable than when I was here
> two or three years ago. The security seems better, people are more
> relaxed." -- U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, to the  NYT while
> hanging in the Green Zone in Baghdad.

<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238&page=3>
Fresh from a trip to Iraq, Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) told reporters  
in a telephone conference call Tuesday that American forces appear to  
have no operational control of much of Baghdad. LINK

Saying "Baghdad is worse today than it was three years ago," Rep.  
Gutknecht was critical of some of the "spin" from Bush Administration  
officials in the Pentagon and State Department. "What I think we need  
to do more is withdraw more Americans," he said. Until his recent  
trip to Iraq, Rep. Gutknecht had been a strong supporter of the war  
in Iraq. He is running in a competitive — though likely Republican —  
district against Tim Walz, a former command sergeant major in the  
Army National Guard.