AJC distorts the words of President Bush

In today's version of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the editorial board comes out in favor of "unbiased, independent analysis."

When talking about the different opinions that different government departments developed, they have this quote from a pre-war report from the State Department:

However, in a prewar classified report, BIR analysts begged to differ, warning that "liberal democracy would be difficult to achieve" in Iraq and that "electoral democracy, were it to emerge, could well be subject to exploitation by anti-American elements."

First, I am trying to remember an example of a country where liberal democracy was NOT difficult to achieve. (Hmmm. The U.S.? France? Czechoslovakia? Israel? Somebody help me out here.) In fact, liberal democracy is difficult to achieve anywhere.

The Kicker: The AJC says that President Bush had unrealistic expectations of the difficulty in bringing democracy to Iraq:

Before the war, the Bush administration was arguing that the Iraqi people would eagerly embrace democracy, and that a democratic Iraq "would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the region," as the president put it.

But the AJC either did not read down to the bottom of the speech they quoted, or are deliberately ignoring the rest of it.

The quote they used was lifted from a speech by President Bush on February 26th, 2003. At the end of this speech, President Bush tells exactly his vision building Democracy in Iraq:

Much is asked of America in this year 2003. The work ahead is demanding. It will be difficult to help freedom take hold in a country that has known three decades of dictatorship, secret police, internal divisions, and war. It will be difficult to cultivate liberty and peace in the Middle East, after so many generations of strife. Yet, the security of our nation and the hope of millions depend on us, and Americans do not turn away from duties because they are hard. We have met great tests in other times, and we will meet the tests of our time.

Irony fully emerges when you consider the rest of the State Department quote the AJC uses: "electoral democracy, were it to emerge, could well be subject to exploitation by anti-American elements." Well, that's true.

However, I would not call the AJC anti-American. But they sure as heck are anti-Bush. And by deliberately misrepresentation President Bush's words, they show that they will use any means, even deception, to achieve their anti-Bush ends. In other word, don't expect any "unbiased, independent analysis" out of the AJC anytime soon.