UP, MEET DOWN

From Milbank and Ricks of the Washington Post:

Bush Says Attacks Are Reflection of U.S. Gains

President Bush yesterday put the best face on a new surge of violence in Iraq as his top defense aides huddled to discuss additional ways of thwarting the anti-American rebellion there before it becomes more widespread.

The president, speaking after attacks on police stations and a Red Cross facility in Iraq killed at least 35 people, said such attacks should be seen as a sign of progress because they show the desperation of those who oppose the U.S.-led occupation.

"The more successful we are on the ground, the more these killers will react," Bush said as he sat in the Oval Office with L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Iraq. He added: "The more progress we make on the ground, the more free the Iraqis become, the more electricity is available, the more jobs are available, the more kids that are going to school, the more desperate these killers become, because they can't stand the thought of a free society."

As others have noted, there is nothing "desperate" about these attacks. They appeared to have lied on significant levels of intelligence, and the attacks appeared highly coordinated. And given recent reports that the resistance has access to an abundance of arms, it's doubtful that the attacks will substantially slow down.

What a mess.

UPDATE: Marshall singles out a funnier line from the piece, citing its origin as the "Department of Sublime Understatement":

Experts in public opinion said it would be difficult for Bush to convince Americans that the violence was a byproduct of success.

Heh.