Impressions of George Bush's Speech

Here are some of my impressions:

The terrorists who attacked us – and the terrorists we face – murder in the name of a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all dissent. Their aim is to remake the Middle East in their own grim image of tyranny and oppression – by toppling governments, driving us out of the region, and exporting terror.

And yet, unlike Communism, it's an ideology without a name, right? So mysterious! But wait! Most of our opponents are Muslims, so presumably that's the ideology. But our allies are Muslims too. So complicated!

Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists. We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability – and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren.

To an increasing extent, we are not hunting down the terrorists. Rather, the terrorists are hunting down our forces. We are on the defensive, have precious little intelligence regarding our enemies, and simply await slaughter.

Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of peace and freedom. Our military reports that we have killed or captured hundreds of foreign fighters in Iraq who have come from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and other nations. They are making common cause with criminal elements, Iraqi insurgents, and remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime who want to restore the old order. They fight because they know that the survival of their hateful ideology is at stake. They know that as freedom takes root in Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty as well.

Well, this is progress. A year ago, Bush was claiming that only dead-enders and recalcitrant Saddam loyalists were opposing the "Advance of Freedom." But what he says now was true then as well. And our enemies don't have a quarrel with "liberty," or even "freedom," as such: they see their enemy as being the United States of America: Christian, modern, aggressive, and in their backyards.

Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: “This Third World War … is raging” in Iraq. “The whole world is watching this war.” He says it will end in “victory and glory or misery and humiliation.”

We determine where the central front is as much as bin Laden does. We said it's Iraq: so it's Iraq!

These are savage acts of violence – but they have not brought the terrorists any closer to achieving their strategic objectives. The terrorists – both foreign and Iraqi – failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty. They failed to break our Coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq’s diverse population. And they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large numbers with the police forces and the army to defend their new democracy.

The insurgents do not appear to have much of a political arm - they never said they wanted to do any of these things. So how can we say they've failed?

The lesson of this experience is clear: The terrorists can kill the innocent – but they cannot stop the advance of freedom. The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11 … if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi … and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden. For the sake of our Nation’s security, this will not happen on my watch.

But we have yielded "the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden," by failing to eradicate him. We didn't follow through in Afghanistan!

A little over a year ago, I spoke to the Nation and described our Coalition’s goal in Iraq. I said that America’s mission in Iraq is to defeat an enemy and give strength to a friend – a free, representative government that is an ally in the war on terror, and a beacon of hope in a part of the world that is desperate for reform. I outlined the steps we would take to achieve this goal: We would hand authority over to a sovereign Iraqi government … we would help Iraqis hold free elections by January 2005 … we would continue helping Iraqis rebuild their nation’s infrastructure and economy … we would encourage more international support for Iraq’s democratic transition … and we would enable Iraqis to take increasing responsibility for their own security and stability.

In the past year, we have made significant progress:

One year ago today, we restored sovereignty to the Iraqi people.

Sovereignty without control of the armed forces is hollow indeed. And how can the U.S. prevail if we don't commit enough troops to the campaign?

In January 2005, more than eight million Iraqi men and women voted in elections that were free and fair – and took place on time.

The elections featured slates of candidates, and not specific individuals - to announce a candidacy meant courting death. The elections gave only the roughest idea of true voter sentiment.

In the past year, the international community has stepped forward with vital assistance. Some thirty nations have troops in Iraq, and many others are contributing non-military assistance. The United Nations is in Iraq to help Iraqis write a constitution and conduct their next elections. Thus far, some 40 countries and three international organizations have pledged about 34 billion dollars in assistance for Iraqi reconstruction.

And troop levels by donor countries are being reduced month by month.....

The progress in the past year has been significant – and we have a clear path forward. To complete the mission, we will continue to hunt down the terrorists and insurgents. To complete the mission, we will prevent al-Qaida and other foreign terrorists from turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban – a safe haven from which they could launch attacks on America and our friends. And the best way to complete the mission is to help Iraqis build a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.

But we are on the defensive, not the offensive. If force protection is the order of the day, we will have failed our soldiers. Seize the offensive, or get picked off by snipers and bombers!

The principal task of our military is to find and defeat the terrorists – and that is why we are on the offense. And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi Security Forces so that they can defend their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.

Vietnamization, Part II!

I recognize that Americans want our troops to come home as quickly as possible. So do I. Some contend that we should set a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces. Let me explain why that would be a serious mistake. Setting an artificial timetable would send the wrong message to the Iraqis – who need to know that America will not leave before the job is done. It would send the wrong message to our troops – who need to know that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their lives to achieve. And it would send the wrong message to the enemy – who would know that all they have to do is to wait us out. We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed – and not a day longer.

But what, again, is our job? The mission changes all the time! It was once WMD: now it's the training of troops. Is that a proper function for our soldiers, instead of their sergeants?

Some Americans ask me, if completing the mission is so important, why don’t you send more troops? If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever – when we are in fact working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave. As we determine the right force level, our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters – the sober judgment of our military leaders.

It has long been clear that if military officers ask for more troops, their careers are cut off at the knees: witness General Abazaid. So, the military commanders don't ask for more troops, ever! - they make do. Remember, the commanders take orders from Bush: they don't "ask" him for jack! And what about the "14 bases" we are angling for in Iraq, the ones the Coalition Provisional Administration made sure our sovereign right to insist upon was embedded in Iraq's Constitution?

One big reason we don't ask for more troops is that we've made a conscious decision that the goal is not worth more troops, however important we might say the mission is. So, we are, in essence, lying to our own troops about the value of their mission. They can sense the gulf between rhetoric and action, and who can blame them if they lose heart?

As Iraqis make progress toward a free society, the effects are being felt beyond Iraq’s borders. Before our Coalition liberated Iraq, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Today the leader of Libya has given up his chemical and nuclear weapons programs. Across the broader Middle East, people are claiming their freedom. In the last few months, we have witnessed elections in the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon. These elections are inspiring democratic reformers in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Our strategy to defend ourselves and spread freedom is working. The rise of freedom in this vital region will eliminate the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder – and make our Nation safer.

One consequence of freedom is that people now openly shout "Yankee Go Home" rather than grit their teeth in silence. Condi Rice's latest trip to the Middle East generated lots of nice headlines here, but no applause there.

America and our friends are in a conflict that demands much of us. It demands the courage of our fighting men and women … it demands the steadfastness of our allies … and it demands the perseverance of our citizens. We accept these burdens – because we know what is at stake. We fight today, because Iraq now carries the hope of freedom in a vital region of the world – and the rise of democracy will be the ultimate triumph over radicalism and terror. And we fight today because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens – and Iraq is where they are making their stand. So we will fight them there … we will fight them across the world – and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won.

No, we are making OUR stand in Iraq: the "terrorists" will go wherever we do! And I didn't recall Bush asking for our perseverance after September 11th: instead, he asked us to continue shopping!

Well, no imminent draft apparently, but no reinforcements for our struggling troops, which means we'll flog them to death, just like we did with the "Rag Soldiers" of WWII, during the Battle of the Bulge (at least there, we had an excuse - we didn't have many troops yet in Europe). Plus, Bush recites hollow progress, and shows no sign of changing course. Following the Vietnam script the entire way! Bush is Nixon resurrected!

(The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again.")

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

(small instrumental)

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

(instrumental)

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?

(instrumental)

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

(instrumental)

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss