In a June 29 report by staff writer Peter Baker, The Washington Post noted that President Bush has recently begun "[s]harpen[ing] his attack[s]" on Democrats by alleging that “some Democrats want to surrender” in Iraq. Baker reported that, during a June 28 fundraiser for the re-election campaign of Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) in Clayton, Missouri, Bush said, “There's a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done. They're willing to wave the white flag of surrender.” At no point in the article did Baker mention that Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, has “drafted a plan that projects sharp reductions in the United States military presence there by the end of 2007, with the first cuts coming this September,” according to The New York Times.

From The Washington Post's June 29 article, titled “Bush Sharpens His Attack on Democrats”:

President Bush attacked congressional Democrats and the news media at a Republican fundraiser Wednesday night, accusing the opposition of “waving the white flag of surrender” in Iraq and declaring that there is “no excuse” for journalists to write about secret intelligence programs.

Sharpening his rhetoric as the midterm congressional campaign season accelerates, Bush offered a robust defense of his decision to invade Iraq even though, ultimately, no weapons of mass destruction were found, and drew standing ovations for his attacks on those who question his leadership of the war or the fight against terrorists.

“There's a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done,” he said. “They're willing to wave the white flag of surrender. And if they succeed, the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off.”

Bush's tone has turned tougher as he appears at more political events. At a Washington fundraiser this month, he said it was important that lawmakers “not wave the white flag of surrender” without asserting that any of them were actually doing so. In his appearance in this St. Louis suburb, he said directly that some Democrats want to surrender, adopting the more cutting approach of his senior political adviser, Karl Rove.

Democrats have reacted angrily to the disclosure of the Casey plan days after Republicans attacked Senate Democrats for supporting a timetable for withdrawal, noting that, as Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said, “Eighty percent of us voted to say we ought to start reducing our troop presence there, and again, we got pummeled. And now, it turns out we are in sync with General Casey.”