They will Believe

Just throw in any old adjective to de-legitimized the war. The Anti-Bush will believe you. (Powerline)

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The report quickly transitions to the fact that the administration is now willing to hold bilateral talks on Iraq with Iran:

The announcement came days after Washington said it was ready to hold direct talks with Iran on the deteriorating security situation in Iraq amid U.S. allegations that Tehran is supporting violent Shiite militias in the country.

But wait! The security situation in Iraq is not "deteriorating," it is improving, by any statistical measure.

...
The AP will, of course, do whatever it can to make sure that "any attempt to paint a positive picture of the war" fails, whether that positive picture is accurate or not.

The AP wants readers to think that the U.S. is approaching Iran because the security situation in Iraq is deteriorating. In fact, it is not the situation on the ground that is worsening, it is the political climate in the U.S. And for that fact, the AP itself bears a great deal of responsibility.