"This is an enemy without conscience and they cannot be appeased," Bush told an audience of students at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Bush said that if the coalition were not fighting terrorists in Iraq, those terrorists would be plotting ways to harm the United States elsewhere.
"By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are fighting a direct threat to the American people … we will never back down, we will never give in and we will never accept anything less than compete victory," the president said. "America will help the Iraqis so they can protect their families and secure their free nation. We will stay as long as necessary to complete the mission."
Today the White House began to outline the so-called exit strategy from Iraq. Yesterday Sec. Defense Donald Rumsfeld told us, "Quitting is not an exit strategy".
The fact is that for myself, a former career military man, this idea of "exit strategy" is crap. The fact is that the President today told us what he has always told us, - 'We're staying until the job is done'.
Sure we can skim down our troop levels a bit, but "exit"? No way - not now. Thank God (yeah God), that this is a President that doesn't back down because polls tell him to. He doesn't cower just because skewed, so-called opinion polls show that people that didn't vote for him and don't like him still don't like him.
He is something the left hasn't had since FDR - a Leader.
The MSM and the antiwar left are constantly yapping their traps about this exit strategy, yet from the beginning he said the war would be, "protracted and difficult". This wasn't going to be a sitcom - over in 30 minutes.
Compared to other conflicts, such as WWII and Korea, the Iraq war/occupation cycle has been surprisingly short. The war - a breeze as resistance was next to nothing. The rest of the time has been helping the Iraqi's establish their new government, and killing a bunch of terrorist slugs along the way. In fact it's amazing that in just three years, we disposed of, captured and now have on trial a ruthless dictator, freed a nation, oversaw their preliminary elections and helped them train their own army, police forces, etc.
Pretty damn good for just three years.
Contrast this to the nearly eighteen years it took to stabilize Western Europe, and Fifty years of occupation on the Korean peninsula (of which I spent two of the best years of my life on the DMZ).Fact is that post-war occupation has always been a signifcant planning factor in war, and yes their are significant issues involved.
Back in 2004, James Carifano wrote of the problems the US faced in WWII with post war occupation, contrasting between them and with the then coming occupation of Iraq.
"The torch was being passed. Speeches were made. The United States transferred sovereignty from the occupation authorities to the new postwar government. Critics railed, saying the day meant nothing _ that nothing had changed. American troops, they said, were stuck in a quagmire. The enemy was getting stronger. Disaster loomed.
It was Sept. 21, 1949, in Bonn, West Germany....When FDR planned for the occupation of Europe, he believed all U.S. troops would be home within two years. The outbreak of the Cold War presented unexpected challenges, but U.S. commitment remained resolute. Similar resolve will see us through today's challenges."
And there have been significant challenges and yes, even mistakes made. FDR made mistakes.
But, on the flip side significant challenges have already been overcome.
Warring factions, such as the Sunnis and the Shiites that the critics said would never work together have come together. Perfectly? No. But so what, hate to break it to ya baby cakes but it's not a perfect world.
Hell, look at our own political system and it's history and tell me that politics is perfect harmony.
Fineman over at Newsweek is spouting (he's always spouting), that the only reason Democrats want to win in 2006 and 2008 is so they can give the conspiracy "Bush lied/People died" moonbat left their congressional day in court.
Isn't that just swell? Yeah, and pretty damn sad. Think of it. For Democrats and the radical left, since Bill Clinton it's always been about "payback", of which fueled and continues to fuel "The Plame Game".No wonder Democrats can't win at the ballot box - too busy being angry. Get some therapy already.
The fact is that President Bush is standing his ground against the rhetoric of the anti-american, antiwar left, who would like nothing better than to see the US laughed at by the terrorist and the world (both of which are their heros). The President's message to them is simple. We are staying the course - so shut the hell up and get over it.
iraq Politics News murtha
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