The Official Republican Iraq Talking Points

Much debate seems to be reduced to these catchy phrases loaded with emotive but lacking much cognitive sense.


UPDATED: The Offficial Republican Iraq Talking Points

For those who may have missed it, the official Bush White House /RNC approved list of Republican talking points on Iraq has gotten a bit of a make-over in the past few days.

President Bush's staggeringly incoherent surge interim progress report last week returned "We're Making Progress" to GOP mouthpieces everywhere. Then, the Senate Republicans' successful filibuster of the Levin-Reed after all night debate brought the Rove stamp of approval for "Political Stunt." (This turn of events signaled the death of a previous GOP favorite, "Up or Down Vote.") And now, Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman has updated John Boehner's "Embolden the Enemy" with a twist of his own, "Reinforces Enemy Propaganda."

Here, then, is the newly updated list of official GOP Iraq Talking Points.

Current GOP Talking Points
The following GOP Iraq talking points appear to still be in use:


"We're Making Progress"

""(Debate is a) Political Stunt"

"(Even Discussing Withdrawal Contingency Plans) Reinforces Enemy Propaganda"

"Wait Til September"

"The Surge Has Just Started"

"Precipitus Withdrawal"

"Support Our Troops"

"Surrender Date"

"White Flag"

"Micromanage the War"

"Embolden the Enemy"

"How Can Congress Confirm General Petraeus But Oppose His Mission?"

"Don't Tell the Generals How to Run the War"

"Handcuffing Our Generals"

"Follow Us Home"

"Islamofascists"

"Mixed Messages (to Syria)"

"Mixed Messages (to the Troops)"

"Mixed Messages (to Iraq)"

"Slow Bleed"

"Surge"

"The World is Safer Without Saddam"

"Saddam Killed His Own People"

"Pre-9/11 Worldview/Mindset"

"Cut and Run"

"As They Stand up, We'll Stand Down"

"Govern Itself, Defend Itself and Sustain Itself"

"Better to Fight Them There Than Here"

"It's Hard Work"

"Slam Dunk"

Al Qaeda Link: "Al Qaeda was Present in Iraq"

"Freedom is God's Gift to Humanity"

"Iraq is the Central Front in the Global War on Terror"

No Longer in Use
Many other Iraq sound bites of yore, however, have mercifully ended up on the dustbin of history.


"Augmentation"

"New Way Forward"

"Adapting to Win"

"Stay the Course"

"Turning the Corner"

"Fresh Eyes"

"Last Throes"

"Purple Fingers"

"Rewriting History (is Irresponsible)"

"(Saddad Was) An Ally of Al Qaeda"

9/11 Link: "Pretty Well Confirmed (Atta Went to Prague)"

"Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism"

"Uranium in Africa"

"Pay for Itself"

"Mission Accomplished"

"Imminent Threat"

"Gathering Threat"

"Greeted as Liberators"

"Smoking Gun, Mushroom Cloud"

"Weapons of Mass Destruction"

"Axis of Evil"

For a look back at the changing Top 10 GOP sound bites over time, visit the archives here. And to access a repository of all the key Iraq war intelligence documents, commission reports, key memos, essential analyses and other required reading, visit the Perrspectives Iraq WMD and Intelligence Resource Center.

—Perrspective 02:08 PM Permalink