April 13, 2004
Strong speech and press conference tonight by Bush, on Iraq, despite the snarky kneecap job here from the Washington Post. The WaPo is reduced to griping about Bush's syntax during Q&A (boy, THAT'S big news) and - get this - his "absolute certainty" that he's on the right course. I guess we need tangled Kerry-ish self-contradictions on Iraq from our President, instead.
Bush'll certainly never be confused with Churchill or FDR, but he radiated conviction; and even when occasionally fumbling a bit to answer hostile questions from self-important White House correspondents who dine on foie gras and Glenlivet, honesty. Bush has the added advantage of being right. Here's the text, and some choice excerpts.
As a proud, independent people, Iraqis do not support an indefinite occupation, and neither does America. We're not an imperial power, as nations such as Japan and Germany can attest. We're a liberating power, as nations in Europe and Asia can attest as well.
...We will not step back from our pledge. On June 30th, Iraqi sovereignty will be placed in Iraqi hands. Sovereignty involves more than a date and a ceremony. It requires Iraqis to assume responsibility for their own future.
....Our coalition is standing with responsible Iraqi leaders as they establish growing authority in their country. The transition to sovereignty requires that we demonstrate confidence in Iraqis. And we have that confidence. Many Iraqi leaders are showing great personal courage, and their example will bring out the same quality in others.
The transition to sovereignty also requires an atmosphere of security, and our coalition is working to provide that security.
We will continue taking the greatest care to prevent harm to innocent civilians, yet we will not permit the spread of chaos and violence. I have directed our military commanders to make every preparation to use decisive force if necessary to maintain order and to protect our troops.
Bush also zeroed in on why it all matters so much.
..A free Iraq will stand as an example to reformers across the Middle East. A free Iraq will show that America is on the side of Muslims who wish to live in peace, as we've already shown in Kuwait and Kosovo, Bosnia and Afghanistan. A free Iraq will confirm to a watching world that America's word, once given, can be relied upon, even in the toughest times. Above all, the defeat of violence and terror in Iraq is vital to the defeat of violence and terror elsewhere and vital, therefore, to the safety of the American people.
...The violence we are seeing in Iraq is familiar. The terrorists who take hostages or plants a roadside bomb near Baghdad is serving the same ideology of murder that kills innocent people on trains in Madrid, and murders children on buses in Jerusalem, and blows up a nightclub in Bali and cuts the throat of a young reporter for being a Jew.
We've seen the same ideology of murder in the killing of 241 Marines in Beirut, the first attack on the World Trade Center, in the destruction of two embassies in Africa, in the attack on the USS Cole, and in the merciless horror inflicted upon thousands of innocent men and women and children on September the 11th, 2001.
...the enemy has seen, over the last 31 months, that we will no longer live in denial or seek to appease them...The terrorists have lost the shelter of the Taliban and the training camps in Afghanistan. They have lost safe havens in Pakistan. They lost an ally in Baghdad. And Libya has turned its back on terror.
They've lost many leaders in an unrelenting international manhunt. And perhaps more frightening to these men and their movement, the terrorists are seeing the advance of freedom and reform in the greater Middle East.
A desperate enemy is also a dangerous enemy. And our work may become more difficult before it is finished. No one can predict all the hazards that lie ahead or the cost that they will bring....We will succeed in Iraq. We're carrying out a decision that has already been made and will not change. Iraq will be a free, independent country, and America and the Middle East will be safer because of it.
During Q&A, Bush broadly hinted he'd approve Gen. John Abizaid's request for at least two more combat brigades of U.S. troops, and also conceded we've got to whip Iraqi security forces into shape.
(More troops are)...up to General Abizaid, and he's clearly indicating that he may want more troops. It's coming up through the chain of command. And if that's what he wants, that's what he gets. Generally, we've had about a 115,000 troops in Iraq. There's 135,000 now as a result of the changeover from one division to the next....I talk to General Abizaid quite frequently. I'm constantly asking him does he have what he needs...And if he makes the recommendation, he'll get it.
In terms of how long we'll be there, as long as necessary, and not one day more. The Iraqi people need us there to help with security....Once we transfer sovereignty, we'll enter into a security agreement with the government to which we pass sovereignty, the entity to which we pass sovereignty. And we'll need to be there for a while.
We'll also need to continue training the Iraqi troops. I was disappointed in the performance of some of the troops. Some of the units performed brilliantly. Some of them didn't. And we need to find out why. If they're lacking in equipment, we'll get them equipment. If there needs to be more intense training, we'll get more intense training.
Bush's appearance won't quiet his critics, but it was gutsy, sincere, and on the money. I've got my own disagreements with the guy on a few matters, but it all pales compared to what we're up against these days. The guy's strong, a leader, a straight shooter. How could anyone even contemplate Kerry?
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 13, 2004 08:53 PM
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