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Fox News still can't do any type of accurate reporting, it would seem.
IRAQ -- STAYING THE COURSE FOUR YEARS LATER: President Bush's schedule yesterday "originally called for no observation whatsoever of the four-year-anniversary of the war." Before altering his plans, Bush's only public event called for playing host to the 2006 college football champion Florida Gators. He proceeded with those plans in the afternoon, shaking hands and celebrating the occasion. (Video HERE.) But at the last minute, he added a brief public statement, which recycled past Iraq-anniversary speeches and advocated a stay the course approach. The media quickly echoed the President's talking points, arguing that his escalation is showing "progress" in Iraq. Fox News's Brit Hume said the escalation "does seem to be making a difference so far," even though a senior administration official admitted "right now there is no trend" showing the new strategy is working. Fox News's Neil Cavuto did a segment on "something you are not hearing" -- how many Iraqis are "thanking" the United States for "liberating" Iraq. In reality, a new poll shows that just 18 percent of Iraqis now have confidence in the U.S.-led coalition troops and nearly 90 percent "say they live in fear that the violence ravaging their country will strike themselves and the people with whom they live." Similarly, Kadhim al-Jubouri, an Iraqi weightlifter who was enlisted to help bring down the statue of Saddam Hussein in 2003, said, "I really regret bringing down the statue. ... The Americans are worse than the dictatorship. Every day is worse than the previous day." Vice President Cheney marked the Iraq anniversary by attending the Hudson Institute Board Dinner at the swanky Union League Club in New York. Yesterday, The Progress Report contacted the Vice President's office to request details about what Cheney would be talking about. "No one in the office can answer that question," said a Cheney staffer. The Hudson Institute -- a proponent of war against Iran -- is home to Cheney's former chief of staff Scooter Libby.
