Iraq: Bush Vows to Punish Iraqi Insurgents (says, "Bring them on!")

AP via Yahoo! News ^ | 07/02/03 | SCOTT LINDLAW

[TigerLikesRooster]

White House - AP

Bush Vows to Punish Iraqi Insurgents

6 minutes ago Add White House - AP to My Yahoo!

By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) pledged Wednesday that the United States will deal harshly with those who attack American troops in Iraq (news - web sites), and said such violence will not undercut his resolve to keep Americans there until stability is restored.

"Anybody who wants to harm American troops will be found and brought to justice," Bush said at an impromptu news conference at the White House. "There are some who feel like if they attack us, we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they're talking about if that's the case."

Increasing attacks have killed more than 23 U.S. soldiers and wounded dozens more since Bush declared major combat over on May 1. On Tuesday, assailants traveling in a vehicle in central Baghdad fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. military vehicle, wounding three soldiers. Another grenade slammed into a U.S. truck on a road south of Baghdad, injuring three soldiers, one of whom died at a field hospital overnight.

"There are some who feel like that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring them on," Bush said. "We got the force necessary to deal with the security situation."

[Cagey]

We lost the war we did not win the Vietnam War...because of weak miserable democrat policians...

You may want to remind your husband that the war was fought under both Democrat and Republican presidents. It was politicians from both sides of the fence who screwed that one up.

[OREALLY]

Your right...but Johnson was the one that gets most of the credit I think...Glad those years are over...I hate that the Vietnam War has to keep getting brought up in the Iraq war disscussion...
I guess I need to stop letting it push my mean button !

[pepperdog]

I feel that the people who are our enemies will not respond any more agressively to Bush's statement.


I think the most confusing thing for us to understand are the cultural differences between us and the M.E. To the M.E. FORM is everything, I can't express it strongly enough, it is EVERYTHING! That is why you have seen such strange posturing. For instance Comical Ali, alias Baghad Bob, denying the presence of our forces when they were practically holding the cameras.

For these people words are equivalent to actions. To show fear or hesitancy in words is, to them, a victory for their beliefs, a REAL victory. It is all about speaking so that their culture understands--so show NO FEAR, they will not respect anything else.

[JoeSchem]

I'm not so certain that was the best response he could have made. I think it might come back to haunt him.

It's only part of the right response. The other part would be to get electricity and water back, put oil money in the pockets of average Iraqis, and set a timetable for elections and pullout. Otherwise, sooner or later, it's going to be Marine Quarters, Lebanon, all over again, and the Muslim world will have reason to hate us all the more.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I agree... I'm a big fan of Bush's, but this quote will be red meat for his enemies.

You mean like Gephardt, who responded that the president should stop the "macho talk"? I laughed my ___ off when I heard that. Keep talkin', Dick! People really want a president who is offended by "macho talk". ROTFL

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Do you really believe they are freerer?

I don't understand how anyone could even ask that question.

[ohioman]

Don't worry, the soldiers love leaders who talk plainly and tough in battle. I know this is true.

The Prez is really stating his confidence in our boys wiping the bastards out. Nobody said the President had to be a feminized wuss.

[Severa]

It doesn't help that the public schools of today don't teach worth a damn when it comes to world history. In high school (I graduated class of '95) we studied the Vietnam war for less than a WEEK. Most of the concentration is on the World Wars, but after the 50s maybe we barely touched on world events at all. What I know about the Vietnam War came from my parents, listening during the few times that my cousin who was a medic in 'Nam is willing to talk, and what I've been able to study on my own. I see no way to compare Vietnam and what is occuring in Iraq.

As for what Bush is saying, it's about damn time we got someone in the White House that lays it out there in plain talk that even the dumbest liberal SHOULD understand, even if they won't listen to it. I got SO tired of X42 pulling stupid ass answers out of thin air that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[ohioman]

That is sad. That is about the same my son has said. He is in college right now and says that he has learned more about the wars of history from me.

Also, I think General Patton would be proud of this President.

[jinxtigr]

"I agree... I'm a big fan of Bush's, but this quote will be red meat for his enemies. When you're not on the front lines, saying "bring em on" sounds chicken-hawkish."

When you're not on the front lines, saying 'bring it on' IS chickenhawkish. Our people out there are in a peacekeeping situation, trying to get the shattered Iraqi resistance to give up forever. We want THEM to be wimps and put flowers in their rifle barrels and go all pacifist.

Stupidest thing Bush could possibly have said. Way to create unnecessary problems for your people in the field, sir. Mind telling them "Actually, why don't you Iraqis just give up and stop fighting" next time, instead of "Oh yes, kill more of our people, you wusses!"?

I'm sorry, the bottom line is not politics or spin or how it will play on Fox, the bottom line is that we want Iraqis not to fight. Period. Is it too much to ask that our commander in chief tell the Iraqis to do what we want them to do, rather than tell them to do what we don't want them to do?

[jinxtigr]

"We've taken out S.H., he's not there. There have been no WMD. We have instituted a police state complete with midnight raids, check points, curfews and disarming the people."

Yes, exactly, fine. We smashed Iraq by military action. We have instituted a police state.

Operative word being POLICE. That is our role now.

War's over. Our message to the Iraqis is not 'bring it on', that's really clueless. Our message to the Iraqis is: "LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS. We have the drop on you, we've blown the heck out of your country, we've killed (most likely) your head guy, for which some of you might even be grateful."

"Stop fighting completely, absolutely. We're going to put your country back together better than you ever imagined it, and we're gonna make you free, but for now, don't you even raise your voice at us. Submit and we'll show you we're not so bad. Resist and you're roadkill, so it's time for you guys to play Gandhi now."

Of course then we'd have to make good on those promises, which is hard, but that's what we promised them. If nobody else in the world believed us, let's make THEM believe us, who's more entitled to an opinion?

But it's all a horrible waste of time unless our message is clearly "lay down your arms, we got the drop on you". Know what Bush should have said? One word. "Surrender!"

[DUMBGRUNT]

Hold on with a Bulldog grip and chew and choke as much as possible ~ Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln's Instruction to General Grant on winning the War

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Nice quotes.

[roses of sharon]

An reporter said last nite that the military wants the bad guys to come out, so they can kill them.

He said during the war, and now, they do regular patrols and taunt them to shoot so they know where the bad guys are.

Evidently, most attacks occur, not from citizens, but from Saddam's guys who are hiding amongst the populace.