Shameless Liar

Mr. Bush has no shame. Whether speaking to groups of 10 or tens of millions, he lies with equal aplomb. From last night's debate:

BUSH: Let me first tell you that the best way for Iraq to be safe and secure is for Iraqi citizens to be trained to do the job.

And that's what we're doing. We've got 100,000 trained now, 125,000 by the end of this year, 200,000 by the end of next year. That is the best way. We'll never succeed in Iraq if the Iraqi citizens do not want to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves. I believe they want to. Prime Minister Allawi believes they want to.

And he lies repeatedly:

BUSH: There are 100,000 troops trained, police, guard, special units, border patrol. There's going to be 125,000 trained by the end of this year. Yes, we're getting the job done. It's hard work. Everybody knows it's hard work, because there's a determined enemy that's trying to defeat us.

The fact of the matter is that according to the Pentagon Bush is off by at least an exponential factor of 10.

The documents show that of the nearly 90,000 currently in the police force, only 8,169 have had the full eight-week
academy training. Another 46,176 are listed as "untrained," and it will be July 2006 before the administration reaches its
new goal of a 135,000-strong, fully trained police force.

Six Army battalions have had "initial training," while 57 National Guard battalions, 896 soldiers in each, are still being
recruited or "awaiting equipment." Just eight Guard battalions have reached "initial (operating) capability," and the
Pentagon acknowledged the Guard's performance has been "uneven."

Training has yet to begin for the 4,800-man civil intervention force, which will help counter a deadly insurgency. And
none of the 18,000 border enforcement guards have received any centralised training to date, despite earlier claims they
had, according to Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee.

They estimated that 22,700 Iraqi personnel have received enough basic training to make them "minimally effective at their tasks," in contrast to the 100,000 figure cited by Bush.

During the debate Kerry has said that he's tried not to use the word "liar" out of respect for the President. Well Kerry should use the word that fits the facts at hand. Mr. Bush has earned the title: Liar.