Bush Iraq Plan Confronts Difficult Military and Political Reality

Interview with Wayne Madsen, investigative reporter, formerly with the National Security Agency, conducted by Scott Harris

Almost daily, the Bush administration has been battered by bad news from Iraq. The focus on investigations into the U.S. military's torture of prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison was momentarily overshadowed by the assassination of Izzedin Salim, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council and the U.S. raid on the offices of longtime American ally Ahmed Chalabi, now suspected of passing sensitive intelligence to the Iranian government. All this, while U.S. troops continue to battle Iraqi insurgents and a Shiite militia group.

With growing questions about the administration's competency to successfully lead the nation out of an increasingly costly war, President Bush addressed the nation on May 24 to explain his goals in Iraq. At a speech delivered at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., the president summarized his plan to hand over sovereignty to a new, as yet unnamed Iraqi interim government on June 30, leading to U.N. supervised elections in 2005. But as President Bush's approval rating in public opinion polls continues to decline, there is great skepticism that the political and military realities on the ground will cooperate.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Wayne Madsen, investigative journalist and former National Security Agency officer, who assesses President Bush's Iraq policy, its chances for success and how the coming U.S. election may affect the conduct of the war.

Read Wayne Madsen's articles online at www.counterpunch.org

Related links:

"Chalabi and the Iranians: The Trail to the Iranians," by Andrew Cockburn, Counterpunch, May 26, 2004

"The Israeli Torture Template: Rape, Feces and Urine-Dipped Cloth Sacks," by Wayne Madsen, Counterpunch, May 10, 2004

"Bush and Hitler: Compare and Contrast," by Wayne Madsen, Counterpunch, Jan. 31, 2003 www.onlinejournal.com

LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking on one of the links below:

http://www.btlonline.org

*

"Between The Lines" is a half-hour syndicated radio news magazine that each week features a summary of under-reported news stories and interviews with activists and journalists who offer progressive perspectives on international, national and regional political, economic and social issues. Because "Between The Lines" is independent of all publications, media networks or political parties, we are able to bring a diversity of voices to the airwaves generally ignored or marginalized by the major media. For more information on this week's topics and to check out our text archive listing topics and guests presented in previous programs visit: httC://www.btlonline.org

*

"Between the Lines," WPKN 89.5 FM's weekly radio news magazine can be heard Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. ET; Wednesdays at 8 a.m. ET and Saturdays at 2 p.m. ET (Wednesday's show airs at 7:30 a.m. ET during fundraising months of April and October).

*

For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Weekly Summary" which features a RealAudio link to the week's program for Between The Lines, send an email to btlsummary-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

*

For an email subscription of "Between The Lines Q&A" which features a RealAudio link and weekly transcript to one of the interviews featured on Between The Lines, send an email to btlqa-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

*

betweenthelines@snet.net

*

http://www.squeakywheel.net/

*

Distributed by Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc.

(c)2004 Squeaky Wheel Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.