Notes on Bush's Farewell Address

President Bush offered thoughts last night on his presidency, and a synopsis of all that was accomplished under her tenure. The following is a review of some of his claims, with related links:

"...The military, the intelligence community, and the FBI have been transformed..."

From the Washington Post, May 18, 2006 (link):

Gen. Michael V. Hayden, if confirmed as the new CIA director, would work to rebuild morale at the agency in part by emphasizing its central role in managing the collection of human intelligence overseas, including by agencies other than his own, according to active and retired senior intelligence officials. Hayden would arrive at a CIA headquarters still shaken by the stormy 18-month tenure of Porter J. Goss. President Bush two weeks ago ousted Goss, whose directorship was marked by an exodus of some of the agency's top experienced talent, an incoming wave of younger case officers and analysts, and growing White House dissatisfaction with the leadership provided by the former Florida congressman and his top staffers.

"...Afghanistan has gone from a nation where the Taliban harbored al Qaeda and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that is fighting terror and encouraging girls to go to school..."

The Council on Foreign Relations, July, 2008:

Despite its ouster, however, remnants of the Taliban have maintained influence in rural regions south and east of Kabul...Though the group has been out of power for several years, it remains a cultural force in the region while working to undermine the U.S.-backed central government. Clashes between Taliban and coalition forces have increased in the first half of 2008, highlighting the Taliban's resurgence and complicating efforts by NATO and U.S. forces to stabilize the country. The Pakistani army, meanwhile, is tackling its own Taliban insurgency. (Link)

"...Iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of America to an Arab democracy at the heart of the Middle East and a friend of the United States..."

From the Associated Press (link):

U.S. TROOP LEVELS:

-October 2007: 170,000 at peak of troop buildup.

-December 2008: 145,000.

-Confirmed U.S. military deaths as of Jan. 2, 2009: At least 4,219.

-Confirmed U.S. military wounded (hostile) as of Dec. 31, 2008: 30,920.

-Iraqi deaths in December 2008 from war-related violence: 393, up from November 2008, which at 360 was the lowest number of civilian casualties reported in one month since the AP began tracking them in May 2005.

-Assassinated Iraqi academics as of Dec. 21, 2008: 410.

-Journalists killed on assignment as of Jan. 2, 2009: 136.

COST:

-Nearly $585 billion so far, according to the National Priorities Project.

OIL PRODUCTION:

-Prewar: 2.58 million barrels per day.

-Dec. 14, 2008: 2.40 million barrels per day.

ELECTRICITY:

-Prewar nationwide: 3,958 megawatts. Hours per day (estimated): 4-8.

-Dec. 9, 2008 nationwide: 4,740 megawatts. Hours per day: 14.1.

-Prewar Baghdad: 2,500 megawatts. Hours per day (estimated): 16-24.

-Dec. 9, 2008 Baghdad: Megawatts not available. Hours per day: 14.3.

TELEPHONES:

-Prewar land lines: 833,000.

-Oct. 2, 2008: 1,300,000.

-Prewar cell phones: 80,000.

-Oct. 2, 2008: 13.4 million.

WATER:

-Prewar: 12.9 million people had potable water.

-Oct. 2, 2008: 20.9 million people have potable water.

SEWERAGE:

-Prewar: 6.2 million people served.

-Oct. 2, 2008: 11.3 million people served.

INTERNAL REFUGEES:

-Nov. 27, 2008: At least 2.4 million people are currently displaced inside Iraq.

EMIGRANTS:

-Prewar: 500,000 Iraqis living abroad.

-Nov. 25, 2008: Close to 2 million mainly in Syria and Jordan.

Via the Global Policy Forum (link):

Iraq: No Let Up in Humanitarian Crisis (March 8, 2008)
According to this report by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the occupation has created a critical healthcare crisis and divided families in Iraq. International humanitarian law requires that those involved in conflict "do everything possible to ensure that civilians, medical staff and medical facilities are not harmed." Yet, the occupying forces have installed checkpoints, established curfews and contributed to a lack of safety, which cuts off Iraqi civilians from even the most basic healthcare.

Iraq Opinion Poll (March 2008)
This poll by D3 Systems and KA Research Ltd. concludes that Iraqi citizens feel that the situation in their country remains dire and there is little hope for improvement. The most pressing problems facing Iraqi citizens are "poor electricity supply and unemployment." The poll argues that the "the lack of security and safety" remains the largest threat and a majority of Iraqis blame the US military as the main cause of the deteriorated security situation.

"...There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results. America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil..."

From data collected by the RAND Corporation (link):

A different accounting from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC):

"...Our Nation is blessed to have citizens who volunteer to defend us in this time of danger. I have cherished meeting these selfless patriots and their families. America owes you a debt of gratitude. And to all our men and women in uniform listening tonight: There has been no higher honor than serving as your Commander in Chief..."

From the Salt Lake Tribune (link):

...The Bush administration grossly underestimated the flood of post-traumatic stress disorder cases coming home from combat and, when confronted with the reality of more than 320,000 new veterans suffering from PTSD, major depression and TBI, it did little or nothing to expedite their care. In fact, of the 84,000 new veterans diagnosed with PTSD, only half, or 42,000 have managed to get their disability claims approved by the VA...

Pentagon: No Purple Heart for PTSD, via Military.com (link)

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Defense officials have rejected the idea that troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder should be eligible for the Purple Heart. "PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event; it is not a wound intentionally caused by the enemy from an 'outside force or agent,' but is a secondary effect caused by witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event," said Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez.

Attempts by the VA to conceal over 1,000 vet suicide attempts per month, via ThinkProgress (link)

The e-mail exchange shows that the VA hoped to keep the statistics out of CBS's hands:

From: Katz, Ira R.
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:27 AM
To: Chasen, Ev
Subject: FW: Not for the CBS News Interview Request

Shh!

Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see at our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?

"...For eight years, we have also strived to expand opportunity and hope here at home. Across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools..."

The Nation reviews pluses and minuses of NCLB (link):

When Congress passed George W. Bush's signature education initiative, No Child Left Behind, it was widely hailed as a bipartisan breakthrough--a victory for American children, particularly those traditionally underserved by public schools. Now, five years later, the debate over the law's reauthorization has a decidedly different tone. As the House and Senate consider whether the law should be preserved--and if so, how it should be changed--high-profile Republicans are expressing their disenchantment with NCLB, while many newly elected Democrats are seeking a major overhaul as well.

"...A new Medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled..."

From the Wall Street Journal, some Medicare drugs are more expensive than before (link):

Figuring out which Medicare drug-insurance plan is right for you is confusing enough. Now, complaints are mounting about an obscure drug-pricing system that can force many older Americans to pay stiff penalties when they opt for brand-name drugs instead of a generic.

"...Every taxpayer pays lower income taxes..."

Technically true, but the benefits were disproportionate. From CBS News (link):

(CBS/AP) President Bush's tax cuts since 2001 have shifted more of the tax burden from the nation's rich to middle-class families, according to a study released Friday by the Congressional Budget Office. The tax rate declined across all income levels -- but more so in the top brackets, the report said. The study found that the effective tax rate for the top 1 percent of taxpayers dropped from 33 percent in 2001 to 26.7 percent this year, a decline of 19 percent. The middle 20 percent of taxpayers saw a decline of 4 percent.

"...Vulnerable human life is better protected..."

Children without health insurance, from the Boston Globe (link):

WASHINGTON -- The number of American children without health insurance declined by about 6 percent last year, according to a new report by Families USA, a non-partisan organization representing health care consumers. But that's largely because the child poverty rate increased, so more children qualified for government-sponsored insurance, the report found. More than 11 percent of children nationwide -- about one in nine -- still lacked health insurance in 2007, according to the report, which was based on an analysis by the US Census Bureau for Families USA. About half a million kids gained health insurance between 2006 and 2007 -- about the same number as fell into poverty.

American families in poverty, according to the US Census Bureau (detailed data available here):

In March of 2001, there were 6,400,000 families in poverty in the US, a rate of 8.7%. In March of 2008, there were 7,623,000 families in poverty, a rate of 9.8%.

Documented civilian deaths in Iraq due to violence, according to Iraqbodycount.org, through the end of 2008:

Between 90,329 and 98,605

This does not include undocumented deaths and deaths due to non-violence causes but related to them (such as disruption in civilian services and utilities). Those estimates have been far higher. As of October, 2006, according to the British medical journal The Lancet (link):

A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.

"...Funding for our veterans has nearly doubled..."

It's technically true that the money spent on VA hospitals has increased under Bush, and faster than under Clinton, but that doesn't mean it's meeting a greatly increased demand. From Factcheck.org (link):

While it's false to say the veterans budget has been cut, and false to say that any veteran getting benefits has been cut off, it is true that funding is not growing as rapidly as demand for benefits, or as rapidly as veterans groups would like.

Veterans groups are unanimous in calling for more money than the administration or Congress have provided. Four groups -- AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States -- have joined to ask for $3.7 billion more than the administration is requesting for next year. Even Bush's own Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi -- in a rare break with administration protocol -- told a House committee Feb. 4 that had asked for more money than Bush was willing to seek from Congress. "I asked OMB for $1.2 billion more than I received," he said, referring to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

And we have also seen stories like this one for the San Diego Union Tribune (link):

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration assumes cuts to funding for veterans' health care two years from now - even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system. Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012. But even administration allies say the numbers are not real and are being used to make the overall picture look better.

"...America's air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner..."

From The Guardian today (link):

"If only" - went the near-universal response from green organisations. They see the Bush years as a concerted assault, from the administration's undermining of the science on climate change to its dismantling of environmental safeguards to its support for mining and oil interests. "He has undone decades if not a century of progress on the environment," said Josh Dorner, a spokesman for the Sierra Club, one of America's largest environmental groups...

...The tone was set in the first 100 days when Bush reneged on a campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide from coal-burning power plants, the biggest contributors to global warming...Christine Todd Whitman, who was the head of the Environmental Protection Agency at the time, later described the exit of Kyoto as "the equivalent to 'flipping the bird,' frankly, to the rest of the world"...

...In 2008, officials from Cheney's office sought to doctor testimony prepared for a Senate hearing on California's efforts to impose stricter fuel efficiency requirements than the national standard. Meanwhile, Bush officials began a concerted effort to strip away a regulatory regime that had been decades in the making...

...A particular target of the Bush administration's project of deregulation was the Endangered Species Act...An official report last month found widespread political interference in the management of endangered species. The inspector general's report said that the deputy secretary of the interior, Julie MacDonald, intervened repeatedly to prevent new additions to the endangered species list. The report said MacDonald, who headed the endangered species protection programme at the US Fish and Wildlife Service, intervened improperly in 13 of the 20 cases under investigation, overruling the recommendations of field biologists that species be protected...

...

Other controversial actions included:

• Gutting key sections of the Clean Water and Clean Air acts

• Dismantling the protections of the Endangered Species Act

• Opening millions of acres of wilderness to mining, oil and gas drilling, and logging

• Defunding programmes charged with the clean-up of toxic industrial wastes such as arsenic, lead and mercury

• Reducing the enforcement effort in the Environmental Protection Agency

• Removing grizzly bears and wolves from the endangered species list

• Endorsing commercial whaling

• Approving mountain-top removal for coal mining

And so forth.

"...When challenges to our prosperity emerged, we rose to meet them. Facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy..."

According the the Bureau of Labor Statistics (data available here):

In January, 2001, 4.2% of Americans of working age were unemployed. As of December, 2008, 7.2% of Americans of working age were unemployed.

Series Id: LNS14000000 Seasonal Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Unemployment Rate Labor force status: Unemployment rate Type of data: Percent Age: 16 years and over
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1998	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.3	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.4
1999	4.3	4.4	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.0
2000	4.0	4.1	4.0	3.8	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	3.9	3.9	3.9	3.9
2001	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.4	4.3	4.5	4.6	4.9	5.0	5.3	5.5	5.7
2002	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.9	6.0
2003	5.8	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.7
2004	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.4
2005	5.2	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.8
2006	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.4
2007	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.9
2008	4.9	4.8	5.1	5.0	5.5	5.6	5.8	6.2	6.2	6.6	6.8	7.2