Posted on 10/06/2005 1:41:35 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
President George W. Bush on Thursday rejected critics of the Iraq war who demand a U.S. pullout and cast the conflict as necessary to prevent Islamic militants from gaining a foothold for a sweeping empire.
"We will never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory," Bush said in a speech on Washington's war on terrorism.
Bush used new and more specific language in characterizing the opponents as part of an Islamic radical movement "with a clear and coherent ideology" and territorial ambitions, rather than dismissing them as the terrorist "evildoers" of his early speeches on the issue.
It was part of a White House effort to rebuild waning American support for the Iraq war amid an upsurge of violence ahead of a planned October 15 referendum on an Iraqi constitution.
Bush firmly rejected those who demand a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, saying to pull out would leave the country's fledgling government exposed to supporters of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and the group's leader in Iraq, Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"Having removed a dictator and aided free peoples, we will not stand by as a new set of killers dedicated to the destruction of our own country seizes control of Iraq by violence," he said.
Bush sought to put the Iraq war in a global context, calling it a central front in the war on terrorism, and accusing al Qaeda militants and their supporters of seeking to overthrow moderate Arab governments and to attack U.S. targets.
He said the United States and its allies had disrupted 10 serious al Qaeda plots since the September 11, 2001, attacks, three inside the United States.
"EVIL BUT NOT INSANE"
Bush dwelt for a good part of his speech on the aspirations of militants as he tried a new approach to convincing Americans of the seriousness of the war on terrorism.
"The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that expands from Spain to Indonesia," Bush said.
Citing recent attacks in London, Sharm el-Sheikh and Bali, Bush said while the bombings appeared random, they serve a clear ideology, "a set of beliefs that are evil but not insane," and gave a new name for the ideology: Islamo-fascism.
A CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll last month said only 32 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of the war, which he launched in 2003 citing the threat of weapons of mass destruction possessed by Saddam Hussein's government.
Since such weapons were never found, and al Qaeda followers have spilled into Iraq to fight against the Americans, Bush now calls Iraq a central focus of the war on terrorism he launched after the September 11 attacks.
His remarks were aimed at an increasingly restive American public, which is weary of daily television images of bombings from Iraq and holding funerals for the more than 1,900 Americans killed in Iraq.
"Wars are not won without sacrifice, and this war will require more sacrifice, more time, and more resolve. The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we have ever faced," he said.
Democrats did not hear what they wanted from Bush. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said Bush failed to outline a strategy for achieving military, political and economic success in Iraq.
"Instead, the president continued to falsely assert there is a link between the war in Iraq and the tragedy of September 11th, a link that did not and does not exist," he said.
Bush also gave an implicit warning to Syria and Iran, accusing them of supporting radical groups.
"State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a long history of collaboration with terrorists and they deserve no patience from the victims of terror. The United States makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor them because they're equally as guilty of murder," he said.
There was a time when the name bin Laden rarely crossed Bush's lips publicly -- partly it seemed to avoid raising the issue of why the United States had failed to track him down -- but Bush invoked the name of the elusive al Qaeda leader several times in making the case against bin Laden's style of Islam.
"Bin Laden says his own role is to tell Muslims: 'What is good for them and what is not.' And what this man who grew up in wealth and privilege considers good for poor Muslims is that they become killers and suicide bombers. He assures them that this is the road to paradise, though he never offers to go along for the ride," Bush said.
Not this let's-make-up-an-artificial-sacrifice for phoney warm fuzzies crap again.
ping
There's a grease shortage? I hadn't heard of this.
What part of rationing fuel is phoney, and warm?
So far there's no need to ration the fuel. It's expensive right now due in part to the temporary reduction in refining capacity, but there's no shortage. The high prices create enough voluntary rationing. If it doesn't work, fear not, the prices will keep climbing until it does...
Why must we rely on 1 company to make a measely 550 armored humvees per month?
Because the humvee was never designed to be a heavily armored vehicle. If you put heavy armor on it to withstand explosions, you then trade off your ability to get out of an ambush or kill zone quickly. I would vote for building more Bradley's.
We've had since 9/11 to ramp up our civilian war machine, and as for someone who was deployed to a foreign land on 9/11 and someone who has spent 13 months IN Iraq (forget the other 6 months before and after), I say it is about time SOMEONE, in the administration say it is time to STOP living like nothing happened.
Unfortunately, there is so much opposition in the press, Congress, and even the public, that any such efforts will be immediately shot down. They won't happen. It's going to require some more of those "natural sacrifices" I was referring to earlier to shut these clowns up and shove them off to the margins where they belong.
If the administration realized that this is a pitched battle between civilizations, and pronounced it as such, then gave a list of things that could be done to insure we WIN, ie: SEAL THE BORDER with volunteers (like the Minutemen), or civil defense units;
It's awfully hard to seal a 2,000 mile border. What about hte Canadian border? They're getting in that way too. I'd be in favor of building a wall but that would take many years. and for the reasons given above, nobody would go for it until 50 buses and 100 strip malls are blown up. Or worse...
Treat true enemies such as Syria and China as the real threats that they are;
As far as I'm concerned, Syria is next. China is on the backburner but they should be watched REAL close...
SHOUT from the podiums that there WERE WMD's in Iraq, like the hundreds of tons of yellow-cake plutonium that was brought back to the US (without IAEA permission).
I'm with you on that one. And I'm generally in favor of anything America does that the IAEA (UN) doesn't like.
Do all of these things and the American people will stand tall with the soldiers and Marines currently in the fight. Do all of this and it will cut the risks of bombs going off in your hometown and mine.
All well and good, but with the exception of grease collection and fuel rationing, these aren't sacrifices for everyday civilians.
BTW: What have you done?
I've had a knot in my stomach every morning after hearing that a chopper went down in Afghanistan or there was a fatal ambush as I rush to work to get on the computer and see if there's an e-mail from Maj. Christopher Plummer, my younger brother. He narrowly missed being blown to bits back in March -- four of his men weren't so lucky. He has scars from it that he'll never completely get over and I've spent time on-line and on the phone giving him whatever comfort and counseling I could. I've winced as he's told me about the latest close call, or how he's going on a high-risk mission the next day. I've counted the days for him to finish his tour and come back to the States.
Does that work for you?
He calls the Minutemen "vigilantes", keeps our border wide-open and unsecured, seeks amnesty with illegals, goes on some dumb Save Socialist Security Tour after his re-election, and nominates some mediocre lawyer to the Supreme Court.
And he wants us to sacrifice MORE?!?!
More WHAT?!?!?!?
He keeps telling the American people to go about their daily lives as normal -- but that now we need to make more sacrifices.
WHICH IS IT, BUSH?!?!?!?
If we're at war then he needs to start acting like it.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
HI DU troll????
What an assinine comment. What is a Chicago Farmer? You taking some kind of gubmint subsidy for your high rise rooftop Rain Forest or something? Blackbird
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typical lib you are, blowing your mouth off before you know the facts.
What an assinine comment. What is a Chicago Farmer? You taking some kind of gubmint subsidy? Blackbird.
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Twelveth generation American Patroit family fought and died in the American Revolution, Civil War, WWI WWII an Koran War. If I had to defend our country from terrorists I would glady do it without a pay check.
Now that we got that out of the way what are your credentials???. What you excuse for not buckling up to fighting WWIII or WWIIII depending upon how you calculate the Cold War.
What say you???.
I'm sorry to say that when the Prez talks, he sounds like a broken record now. Same Sh*t, different day. So how many times do you think you'll have to go back to Iraq because he has grossly mismanaged this war?
There, I've said it. I'm ready for the Viking Kitties now. Hey - maybe we can send the Viking Kitties to do border patrol...
You count too!!!! It goes without saying - you're just as much a part of the sacrifice as the soldier.
Who said anything about "making up artificial sacrifices," besides you?
You are right.
OK. Fair enough.
I am not trying to "Troll" here. I am trying to engage in an actual discussion. I don't think I am trying to be discreet about it - I used the most clear name I could come up with. But at the same time, I have been polite and respectful. I know this is a conservative website, but I think a little critical analysis of all sides of an issue is worthwhile, don't you?
You are right as well.
And doesn't it anger you that you have loved ones in harms way while the rest of the nation could hardly be bothered with what is going on there? I have friends who served in Iraq. I had a friend who was murdered in the first Bali attack. It infuriates me to try to image what is happening in the world, while back home peoples' day to day lives are hardly affected.
The sad fact of the matter is that more people here seem to care about the Apprentice than Iraq.
IT IS A HUGE SACRIFICE to put up with the carping of the bush-backbiters, you know the ones who (claim to have) voted for him and now can't distance themselves fast enough
perhaps its the only way you can fit in with the smart folks you so admire--better get on record now that you're against bush since history will make him look so bad
ironically, 10 years from now nobody, not even dems, will admit they were against the WOT and the transformation of the middle east
anyone stupid enough to admit it will lose some teeth to a proud vet, liberated muslim, secure israeli or their kin
bush will be hailed as reaganesque in his steadfast confrontation with the most important threat of his time
as for spending: name me one negative impact you've felt from this remarkable recovery? why don't you all sacrifice some time to learn something about the compromises that are sometimes necessary to make incremental progress toward a freer and fairer capitalism (especially when you've got the dems, their media and schools pulling the other direction)
A little "shock and awe" sounds good to me.
Regrettably, you have stumbled on what the president means by "sacrifice". My sources in DC are whispering that Bush is preparing a proposal to ration gasoline.
Isn't that a riot? Start rationing because of natural disaster, but not for the war. The man boggles my mind!
Thanks for the heads up, something tells me that will go over like a lead balloon or something.
Geez, what a blow hard! You were called for your DU Troll assinine comment, targeting a longtime FReeper posing a CONSERVATIVE trait on a CONSERVATIVE Forum, and you have the gall to call me a lib? Truly idiotic, and a typical leftist tactic used when a loss of argument is evident.
As to the rest of your babble, it's all pointless. Your "heritage" wasn't called into question, your current status in life is what's debatable. You really should check your leftist tendancies at the door. As to questioning my credentials, my family roots were well grounded in America before your peoples learned to sail the high seas bub! I'm a Veteran, my wife is a Veteran, one of my 4 kids is a Veteran, and I have Veterans rooted in my family for more generations then you can shake a stick at. Got any more rant lefty? Blackbird.
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