Iraq Realities Force Bush to Respond

Iraq Realities Force Bush to Respond:

"As with the Downing Street Memo, the (London) Times was quicker than any American news organization to document the gap between rhetoric and reality of U.S. policy in Iraq.

President Bush will address the American people Tuesday night amid mounting questions about claims of progress in Iraq. Polls show once-solid public support for the war has dissipated. Restive Republicans are increasingly critical. The coverage in the international online media highlights the administration's problem. While the White House complains that news organizations ignore signs of progress in Iraq, the Iraqi press itself is full of reports of chaos and corruption.

The secret negotiations, according to the Sunday Times, suggest how the United States may be trying to ease its predicament. 'The talks appear to represent the first serious effort by Americans and Iraqi insurgents to find common ground since violence intensified in the spring,' the paper said."