Posted on 08/30/2006 4:54:05 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
FOR the third time in less than a year, and two months before crucial US elections, President George W. Bush is launching a new campaign to counter opposition to the Iraq war with a series of speeches he insists are not political.
Mr Bush will kick off the speeches with an appearance tomorrow at the American Legion annual convention in Salt Lake City and will maintain the theme of the Iraq war and national security throughout September.
Amid a sharp escalation of violence in Iraq over the past few months, Mr Bush will acknowledge "that these are unsettling times", White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
But he will discuss the Iraq war in the broader context of the war on terror, she said.
The speeches coincide with the commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
While Democrats have pressed for a timeline for withdrawing US troops from Iraq, Mr Bush and his aides have argued that a sudden pullout would embolden al-Qaeda and other militant groups and leave Americans more vulnerable to another terrorist attack on US soil.
Mr Bush, who was in Little Rock, Arkansas, for a fund-raiser, said his speech series was about policy, not politics.
"My series of speeches, they are not political speeches, they are speeches about the future of this country and they are speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, this nation will become in even more jeopardy," Mr Bush said. "These are important times and I would seriously hope people wouldn't politicise these issues that I am going to talk about."
Laying the groundwork for the administration's new push on Iraq, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today compared war critics to those who argued for appeasing the Nazis during World War II.
Mr Rumsfeld made the controversial comments at the same American Legion venue where Mr Bush is to speak tomorrow.
While Mr Bush's approval ratings have been sliding over the past year and are at less than 40 per cent, surveys show voters have given him his highest marks yet on the issue of the war on terror.
Better late than never.
If you have not seen this elsewhere, read it now: Vice Director Admiral Sullivan of the JCS Strategic Planning and Policy's take on the Long War. (PowerPoint Presentation)
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/files/jcslongwar_vicedirectorforstratplansandpolicy_j5.ppt
"Cut and run" did great damage to the antiwar crowd. What we need now is people (pundits) and others to portray the President as beleaguered by a host of "Bush Haters" who would destroy the country to fulfill their anger lust.
Deep in the recesses of crowd psychology is the desire to see your leader prevail and especially against unfair attacks or fortune. We expect that and appreciate it, but it has to be highlighted by the movers and shakers.
Regardless of what people thought or think about President Clinton his poll numbers went up with impeachment. People intuitively, and perhaps even reluctantly, respected his ability to function in spite of the charges against him. Freepers missed this as did I but the poll numbers told the story.
We have a Lancelot and he is taking on all comers. Time to rejoice in that.
probably too late, but only by a couple of YEARS!!!
I fear it is too late for the American people to realize the mortal danger they are in. Any vote for any Democrat candidate is a vote for the destruction of the United States and the death of millions of Americans. When Rome fell, it was because her people did not sense the building danger and they lost their will to fight for their continued existance. But, at least the Roman Empire endured for 1500 years. Americans are asleep at the wheel, or are in mass denial. GW Bush and the Republican Party better get with the program, because if the Dems come to power, 911 will look like a Sunday School picnic. I fear for my children and grandchildren. Trying my best, but not making much headway.
Just pull bin laden out of a hole, and everything will be fine.
Let's not forget, we've had no attacks since 2001.
The question is whether the attacks are true and justified or simply motivated by partisan zeal.
Clearly, the attacks on Bush are the latter, and we have as exhibit A the Plamegate fiasco, which has flamed out as a put-up job. Not only was the real source Armitage, but both the State Dept and Fitzgerald investigators knew that early on, and chose to let Rove et al twist in the wind. The liberals meanwhile accused the White House of a nefarious plot that never happened.
I am sure Howard Dean mouthed off more than once about how Rove should be fired, put in jail, etc etc...
Time to sharpen the pens and counter-attack:
Democrats lied while our soldiers died.
Democrats lied while our soldiers died
Yes, that is quite good.
This is one of the many moments when I miss my Dad.
I wish I could ask him if Americans were inundated with spin that read: "For the third time in less than a year President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt is launching a new campaign to counter opposition to the war in Europe and Japan with a series of speeches he insists are not political."
If so, it's a miracle we won WWII.
If not, I better understand why and how we did.
I asked my Brother, who is currently in Iraq (Balad) what his take on the Iraq situation was. His answer below:
"As for Iraq, I guess what bothers me the most about this place is that the enemy (enemies) of this countrys successful rise to being a great place again is that all they have to do is “keep the blood flowing”. Our media will take care of the rest. It’s like the president said, all they have to do is be right once, we have to be right all the time. When you have people blowing themselves up, or militias sneaking out at night, taking people from their homes and killing them en-mass, and an Army that hasn’t even learned to get past the Kurd/Sunni/Shiite issues to a point where they can’t trust each other enough to work together for a common goal, it becomes frustrating. We are working to solve these problems, but it takes time. I guess we will know what our country wants to do after our next election. Sometimes I think about our own Civil War and how, if it didn’t turn out the way it did, how our country might have turned out. I mean, we have our problems, but we don’t have the deep divisions to a point where we cannot functions together as a successful society. This stuff has to turn out right here, or, well, I would hate to think what this place will become for generations to come, and how this will affect the safety of the US and our families. "
Not real upbeat, but that's my brother. He does see the impportance of waht they are trying to accomplish. Judging by his opinion after 4 months in country , I sure hope Bush really steps up the defense of this effort. We cannot afford to let the Dems ruin what progress we've made to this point. Go get'em is right!
P.S. I have no idea what he meant by "great place again". I think he's listening to an Iraqi point of view of what once was, but only for a select few. Nonetheless, I always find it interesting to get a perspective from those who are there, and thought you would too.
I don't believe its too late. I think Romes' demise was somewhat easiier to understand. Many Roman citizens were the prodcut of expansion and induction, rather than idealism. They fed at the public trough, but most of them didn't contribute to its creation. it was to be used up with no alliegance.
In America, despite the shameful exception regarding the method of arrival of some Africans, people came of thier own free will, along with a dedication to be an American. That's not going to be easily torn apart. Sure, not all newcomers contributed to the creation of America, as in Rome, but the vast majority of them were never conquered or inducted. They came of thier own free will, which is what I think we, and many of our newcomers are truly fighting for. Free will.
I also believe the country is actually becoming more conservative minded, not less, despite the media's full scale assault on conservatism. A liberal may win a primary, but they will never see the White House unless they move to the right (or fake it) to get there. Whereas, a conservative can still win without much compromise at all.
No, we are not lost. Our children will be fine. We just have to remain committed and strong. If, God forbid, a Democrat gets into office in the next election, we'll survive it. At a time like this, I can almost guarantee it would only be for 4 years, unless they are of the JFK mindset and I don't see any of those out there. But, let's not let it get to that point. For our kids, and our grandchildren's future, I will be fighting the liberals tooth and nail all the way to '08.
You're right. Bush lost his political compass long ago. He should have been declaring Iraq a victory long ago and stated that we were now only there to assist in peackeeping and the rest is up to Iraq etc etc.
If Iraq were later to go south he would have been able to say we won the war but Iraq itself lost the peace. We did our part by getting Saddam out of there and setting up a democratic govt. Our work was a success. End of story. He should have never set the expectation that how the peace turns out is a reflection on us. Bush has played this Iraq thing poorly politically and has allowed the lying stinking democrats a foothold to power. An incredible blunder.
If Dems gain control of both House and Senate ... that would be truly disastrous, but I don't believe that's going to happen. The President is good at salvaging enough political capital to get by. In the long run, we will see exactly what you said as another in a set of gambles which basically worked. Iraq cannot go south - that would also be a disaster.
No mention of the very sharp decline of violence in Baghdad in August....why are reporters afflicted with such slow brains?
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NEVER FORGET
Praise GOD that...
President BUSH has promised...
Freedom's return to:
Communist Vietnam
Communist North Korea
Communist Cuba
..as well as..
Freedom's arrival to:
All the countries of the Middle East
...as America's own best self-protection against future terrorist attacks here at home.
***promised in a personally signed April 2003 BUSH Letter read aloud to over 1,000 Freedom-loving Vietnamese Americans demonstrating in Little Saigon CA in praise of BUSH's bringing Freedom's arrival to Iraq & Afghanistan.
Signed:.."ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer
-An inperson Witness to this event
-Veteran, 1st Major Battles for Freedom of the Vietnam War 1965-66
http://www.lzxray.com/guyer_collection.htm
(Photos)
NEVER FORGET
.
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America's cut & run from Vietnam long ago brought us:
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
America's 2nd cut & run would now bring what to Iraq, Afghanistan & US, I wonder..?
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