August 23, 2007

GOP Senators Need Only Half Day in Iraq to Declare Significant Progress

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Senator Jim Webb has called the military-organized trips American politicians take to Iraq “dog-and-pony shows.” Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Bob Corker (R-TN) must have seen one hell of a show earlier this week, because they’re declaring “clear success, province by province” after just a half day in country.

Yup. The Tennessee duo spent 10-14 hours of their four day trip actually in Iraq. Yet Alexander felt comfortable saying, “There are probably seven provinces where enough progress has been made to involve Iraqis in their own security.”

The good news, amidst all this disingenuousness, is that both Senators seemed to think things were going so well in Iraq that we could start reducing the number of soldiers there. I’m smelling a positive September report, followed by Republicans claiming it’s time to start shuffling troops home. Bush will claim we have grand obligations to Iraq, but will reduce troops in time to kill the Democrats’ biggest 2008 advantage.

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

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