The Bush Administration’s Response to Iraqi Protests

was typical Bushspeak. In response to the news of anti-American protests in Iraq by thousands of Iraqis on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, Bush spokeman Gordon Johndroe said that it shows that “Iraqis are now free to gather and express their opinions, which they could not do under Saddam.” Col. Steven Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman, echoed that Iraqis “could not have done this four years ago. This is the right to assemble, the right to free speech–they didn’t have that under the former regime.” I am almost sure I heard Bush himself say basically the same thing today on NPR.

There was no mention of the hundreds of Iraqis who will be killed this month as they assemble and exercise their right of free speech.

Of course, there was also no mention by the Bush administration that the Iraqis who were supposed to greet us as liberators now consider us to be invaders.

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5:56 pm on April 9, 2007