Bush Likens War Against Terrorism to WWII (Major speech at Air Force Academy Graduation )

The Las Vegas Sun ^ | June 02, 2004 at 11:41:52 PDT | MATT KELLEY

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -

President Bush, preparing new Air Force officers for war, cast the fight against terrorism as a struggle between freedom and tyranny similar to World War II and the Cold War.

"Our goal, the goal of this generation, is the same," Bush said Wednesday, after referring to World War II. "We will secure our nation and defend the peace through the forward march of freedom."

Bush told 981 graduates that they will be joining a war whose central front is Iraq.

"Each of you receiving a commission today in the United States military will also carry the hopes of free people everywhere," the president said.

The graduates wore dress uniforms of white pants, blue tunics and gold sashes around their waists. Bush spoke in the academy's football stadium - at more than 7,000 feet above sea level - under partly cloudy and breezy skies.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., an Air Force Academy graduate, were among the officials who joined Bush on stage.

Bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq, Bush has argued, will undercut the stagnation and despair that feeds the extremist ideologies of al-Qaida and its terrorist allies.

The president's trip to Colorado came after he voiced his support Tuesday for the interim Iraqi government taking shape before the scheduled June 30 transfer of political power from the U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority. Bush praised the newly chosen prime minister, Iyad Allawi, and president, Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, as part of democracy's vanguard in Iraq.

The new Air Force officers will enter a military strained by an occupation of Iraq that has become increasingly violent in the past two months. Bush and other administration officials say they expect the violence to continue, even after the caretaker government takes over in July.

Plans call for elections in Iraq by January to form a fully independent Iraqi government. The U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq will remain largely in control of Iraqi security until then, and Pentagon officials say they expect to keep about 135,000 American troops in Iraq until at least the end of 2005.

Bush this week is repeating his pledges to stay the course in Iraq despite the surging violence and the failure so far to neutralize anti-American fighters from Sunni extremists around Baghdad to followers of a radical Shiite cleric in southern Iraq.

"We will finish what we have begun and we will win this essential victory in the war on terror," Bush said at a fund-raising dinner in Denver Tuesday night.

American forces have not found the weapons of mass destruction stockpiles Bush cited as a primary justification for the March 2003 invasion. And officials have not announced any evidence directly linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida or the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Still, Bush is pressing his assertion that toppling Saddam and installing democracy in Iraq is an indispensable goal in the wider war on terrorism.

"Part of winning the war on terror is spreading freedom and democracy in the Middle East," Bush told reporters at the White House before leaving for Colorado on Tuesday.

Colorado is important to Bush for more than the Air Force Academy. Bush wants the nine electoral votes from a state he won four years ago, 51 percent to 42 percent for Al Gore. Republicans also want to keep the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Bush raised more than $2.2 million for the Republican Party at Tuesday night's event, for which couples paid $5,000 or more to attend. Bush called his Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry, soft on the war on terrorism.

Bush's speech also is an opportunity for the Air Force Academy to polish its image in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal. Air Force Secretary James Roche replaced the top four officials of the school last year after dozens of female cadets complained they had been raped or sexually assaulted and their attackers were given light punishment or no punishment at all.

Several dozen Bush supporters cheered and waved campaign signs along the road into the academy, which is nestled in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Pikes Peak.

[Wolfstar]

Grin: You beat me to it. I was just going to post this myself.

[eastforker]

A most powerful speech I have ever heard W deliver.

[adam_az]

So was the Nazi party the Party of Peace? Not all Nazis were bad, most were peace-lovers whose beliefs were perverted?

I wish the rhetoric would end. Maybe after November.

[Christian4Bush]

There is an alternate definition to the letters AP, neither of which words I can say, for risk of being banned. Let's just say, the A is a wasteful part of the anatomy, and the P...rhymes with ricks...

[CasearianDaoist]

Wow, this speach did not get buried. They pick it right up. What's up with that?

[Tarantulas]

After the speech, he didn't walk away and fly back to the White House. He sat down on the stage as the graduation ceremony continued. Fox News showed a few seconds of video later, and he was standing on the podium saluting and shaking hands with each cadet as the names were called. And I think they said the graduating class had over nine hundred cadets in it!

He didn't have to do that. He could have left right after the speech, but he stayed for them. I don't understand how anyone can hate this man.

Fox News just showed the podium, and he's still up there, saluting and shaking hands and posing for pictures!

[priceofreedom]

Bush made some very important points in this speech, first he told all the armchair generals to hold on to their horses showing that both the cold war and ww2 took a long time. second he reiterated the fact that we are dealing with thug murderers. Thirdly he adressed th3e fact that this was just one stop in a loooooong war. Gotta love this Guy!!!!!!!!!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Reuters:

_____________________________________________________________

Bush Likens War on Terror to WWII Wed Jun 2, 2004 02:58 PM ET By David Morgan COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - President Bush on Wednesday compared his war on terror to America's mission in World War II, likening the Sept. 11 attacks to Pearl Harbor and the upheavals in the Middle East to Cold War Europe. In a speech to hundreds of Air Force Academy graduates, the Republican president likened the Islamist militancy of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network to the "aggressive ideologies" of the 20th century. "Just as events in Europe determined the outcome of the Cold War, events in the Middle East will set the course of our current struggle," Bush told an audience of 29,300 who packed the Air Force Academy's football stadium. "If that region is abandoned to terrorists and dictators, it will be a constant source of violence and alarm," he added. If that region grows in democracy and prosperity and hope, the terrorist movement will lose its sponsors, lose its recruits and lose the festering grievances that keep terrorists in business." He told the cheering graduates that the United States would triumph now as it did 60 years ago in the last world war. "Like the Second World War, our present conflict began with a ruthless surprise attack on the United States. We will not forget that treachery and we will accept nothing less than victory over the enemy," Bush said. The commencement address was billed as a follow-up to Bush's address at the Army War College a week ago in which he discussed U.S. expectations for democracy in Iraq, where a new interim government emerged to a deadly string of car bombs and clashes between American forces and insurgents. The president has repeatedly held out the prospect of a democratic Iraq as a catalyst for political and economic reform across the region through a proposal called the Greater Middle East Initiative, which he will push at next week's Group of Eight summit during meetings with Western and Arab leaders. Administration officials have often compared the March 2003 invasion of Iraq with the Allied invasion of Europe that brought cheering crowds of newly liberated citizens into the streets to greet American soldiers. But the administration's war in Iraq has foisted political liabilities on Bush as he wages a tough election-year campaign against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. More than 800 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq, the vast majority since the cessation of major combat operations, while U.S. troops continue to clash with insurgents from both the Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim communities. An estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians and thousands more Iraqi military have died. U.S. concern about Iraq has pushed Bush's job approval ratings to all-time lows. His Middle East initiative has angered Arabs who view it as Western-imposed reforms. And repeated shootings by suspected militants in Saudi Arabia have sent oil prices skyrocketing amid fears of destabilization in the world's biggest oil exporter. Undeterred by political pressure, the president has donned the mantle of war president by vowing to keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the country is stable and undertaking a series of war-related speeches that will include a June 6 appearance at the site of the 1944 Normandy invasion. Bush travels to Europe on Thursday amid fears of violence in Italy, where demonstrators opposed to their country's role as a chief U.S. ally in Iraq plan widespread demonstrations during a 36-hour presidential visit. Meanwhile, U.S. officials have been forced to compromise on the length of stay for American troops in Iraq as part of negotiations aimed at securing a U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning the new Iraqi government. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Randy Fabi)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now same reporter from Reuters....

See above....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related item :

The “Greater Middle East Initiative”: vision or mirage?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related item:

_________________________________________________________________

Media war against the war on terrorism

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Remarks by the President at the United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony (Transcript )

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Update:

___________________________________________________________

---

Today: June 02, 2004 at 13:51:44 PDT

Bush Likens War Against Terrorism to WWII

By MATT KELLEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -

President Bush compared the fight against terrorists to the struggle against tyranny that forced World War II, telling new Air Force officers Wednesday that the United States and its allies can win the battle by bringing freedom and reform to the Middle East.

"Our goal, the goal of this generation, is the same" as it was in World War II, Bush said. "We will secure our nation and defend the peace through the forward march of freedom."

Bush told 981 graduates of the Air Force Academy that they will be joining a war whose central front is Iraq and the broader Middle East.

The graduates wore dress uniforms of white pants, blue tunics and gold sashes around their waists. Bush spoke in the academy's football stadium - at more than 7,000 feet above sea level - under partly cloudy and breezy skies.

"Just as events in Europe determined the outcome of the Cold War," he said, "events in the Middle East will set the course of our current struggle."

"If that region is abandoned to dictators and terrorists, it will be a constant source of violence and alarm, exporting killers of increasing destructive power to attack America and other free nations," Bush said. "If that region grows in democracy and prosperity and hope, the terrorist movement will lose its sponsors, lose its recruits and lose the festering grievances that keep terrorists in business."

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., an Air Force Academy graduate, were among the officials who joined Bush on stage.

Bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq, Bush has argued, will undercut the stagnation and despair that feeds the extremist ideologies of al-Qaida and its terrorist allies.

In Washington, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, proposed a "Middle East 21st-century trust" as an alternative to Bush's Mideast initiative. The trust would use donations from wealthy countries to make grants aimed at economic and political reform in the Mideast. Lugar said the trust would be modeled on programs like the Global Aids Fund, the G-8 Africa Action Plan and the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account.

Lugar said his proposal incorporates many of the principles of Bush's Mideast initiative but emphasizes the participation of many nations, including wealthy Mideast countries like Saudi Arabia. And, the recipient nations themselves would develop specific programs so as to bring about a "restructuring of the region from within," Lugar said.

Defending his focus, Bush said, "Some who call themselves realists question whether the spread of democracy in the Middle East should be any concern of ours. But the realists in this case have lost contact with a fundamental reality: America has always been less secure when freedom is in retreat; America is always more secure when freedom is on the march."

The president's trip to Colorado came after he voiced his support Tuesday for the interim Iraqi government taking shape before the scheduled June 30 transfer of political power from the U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority. Bush praised the newly chosen prime minister, Iyad Allawi, and president, Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, as part of democracy's vanguard in Iraq.

The new Air Force officers will enter a military strained by an occupation of Iraq that has become increasingly violent in the past two months. Bush and other administration officials say they expect the violence to continue, even after the caretaker government takes over in July.

Plans call for elections in Iraq by January to form a fully independent Iraqi government. The U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq will remain largely in control of Iraqi security until then, and Pentagon officials say they expect to keep about 135,000 American troops in Iraq until at least the end of 2005.

Bush this week is repeating his pledges to stay the course in Iraq despite the surging violence and the failure so far to neutralize anti-American fighters ranging from Sunni extremists around Baghdad to followers of a radical Shiite cleric in southern Iraq.

Colorado is important to Bush for more than the Air Force Academy. Bush wants the nine electoral votes from a state he won four years ago, 51 percent to 42 percent for Al Gore. Republicans also want to keep the Senate seat of retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Update from Reuters:

________________________________________________________________

War on Terror Like WWII Mission, Bush Says Wed Jun 2, 2004 05:36 PM ET By David Morgan COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - President Bush on Wednesday compared his war on terror to America's mission in World War II while calling for a new era of reform to avoid the emergence of "terrorist-controlled states" in the oil-rich Middle East. In a speech to Air Force Academy graduates, the Republican president rejected claims that his administration's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan have fueled militancy in the Muslim world. "Now freedom is stirring in the Middle East and no one should bet against it," Bush said a day after embracing a newly chosen Iraqi interim government. "Overcoming terrorism and bringing greater freedom to the nations of the Middle East is the work of decades," he added. "In the short term, we will work with every government in the Middle East dedicated to destroying the terrorist networks. In the longer term, we will expect a higher standard of reform and democracy," the president said. The address was billed as a follow-up to Bush's speech at the Army War College a week ago in which he discussed U.S. expectations for democracy in Iraq, where a new interim government emerged to a deadly string of car bombs and clashes between American forces and insurgents. The president has repeatedly held out the prospect of a democratic Iraq as a catalyst for political and economic reform across the region through a proposal called the Greater Middle East Initiative, which he will push at next week's Group of Eight summit during meetings with Western and Arab leaders. His remarks were replete with references to World War II milestones and Bush at one point compared the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . "Like the Second World War, our present conflict began with a ruthless surprise attack on the United States. We will not forget that treachery and we will accept nothing less than victory over the enemy," he said. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry accused the president of misleading Americans by linking the Iraq war to Sept. 11. "It was the weapons of mass destruction which were given to Congress as the primary cause and rationale for our involvement. So I think that's once again misleading America, frankly," Kerry told reporters in Tampa, Florida. The president acknowledged the danger of spreading violence in countries including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. "We will prevent the emergence of terrorist-controlled states," he told an audience of 29,300 people who often replied with lackluster applause. Administration officials have often compared the March 2003 invasion of Iraq with the popular Allied invasion of Europe. But the war in Iraq has foisted political liabilities on Bush as he wages a tough election-year campaign against Kerry. More than 800 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq, the vast majority since the end of major combat. An estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians and thousands more Iraqi military have died. U.S. concern about Iraq has pushed Bush's job approval ratings to all-time lows. His Middle East initiative has angered Arabs who view it as Western-imposed policies. Undeterred by political pressure, Bush has donned the mantle of war president by undertaking a series of war-related speeches that will include a June 6 appearance at the site of the 1944 Normandy invasion. Bush travels to Europe on Thursday amid fears of violence in Italy, where demonstrators opposed to their country's role as U.S. ally in Iraq plan widespread demonstrations. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Randy Fabi)

[CO06]

Actually, he kind of did have to stay. The person who give the graduation speech stays for all the cadets. Last year it was Secretary Roche, but the rotation's all messed up. President Bush was supposed to come last year, but didn't; I think it may have been West Point's 200th, and since this was our 50th year....

A plethora of USAFA info...;)

[CO06]

Forgot to add...986 (ish). Pretty decent. My class is down to 920 something.