Bush speech

[Xenu]

...Ryan, are you summarizing?

[Rspaight]

I might look at the transcript later. I don't want to harvest stomach ulcers by actually watching the man live.

Ryan

[Stretcher Case]

On the West Coast the speech was during the drive time home. Caused way too many accidents on I-5 northbound. Seriously, there were two accidents.

This guy sure has a way with words.

blah blah blah stay the course blah blah hates freedom blah blah sacrifice blah blah central front in the war on terror blah blah September the 11th blah blah hunt down the terrorists blah blah work is hard blah blah


References to "murder": 4
References to "innocent": 4
References to "September 11": 5
References to "weapons of mass destruction": 0
References to "freedom": 21
References to "exit strategy": 0
References to "Saddam Hussein": 2
References to "Osama Bin Laden": 2
References to "a mistake": 1 (setting a timetable for withdrawal)
References to "mission": 11
References to "mission accomplished": 0
References to "coalition": 10

ABC's Terry Moran just reported that the only time Bush got applause was in the middle of his speech when a White House advance team member started clapping all on their own in order to cajole the soldiers into clapping, which they dutifully did.

So even the applause was fake.

[Bennett Cerf]

Is the Bush presidency in its last throes yet?

[Rspaight]

Yikes, what a horrible speech that was. I mean, I understand why he never mentioned the fact that the reasons he gave for the war back in 2002 and early 2003 were totally bogus. But this was just an endless repetition of empty platitudes.

The whole speech can be summed up as follows:

- "We're fighting because of September 11." (Five mentions of 9/11, which of course has no direct connection to the Iraq war.)

- "We're fighting for freedom against terrorists."

- "Invading countries makes freedom happen everywhere."

- "Iraq has security forces."

That last one is great. Over and over and over, he called them "security forces," not an "army." Hmmmm.

The "new" stuff consisted of -- get ready -- we're working with the Iraqis to train them. Yee-hah.

Here's an edited transcript.

Good evening.
protect
sacrifice
vital work
secure
troops
fighting
global war
terror
September 11, 2001
terrorists
attacked
terrorists
murder
totalitarian ideology
hates freedom
rejects
despises
grim image
tyranny
oppression
terror
kill
terrorists
corrupt
decadent
hard blows
September the 11th
attacked
defend
freedom
fight
enemy
battlefield
war
terrorists
kill
innocent
murderous ideology
New York and Washington and Pennsylvania
defeat
attack
terrorism
extremism
hunting
terrorists
free
terror
freedom
violence
instability
work
difficult
dangerous
violence
bloodshed
horrifying
suffering
violence
sacrifice
security
violence
ruthless killers
freedom
killed
captured
criminal elements
Iraqi insurgents
Saddam Hussein
fight
hateful ideology
freedom
terrorists
terrorists
Osama bin Laden
third world war
raging
war
misery
humiliation
terrorists
defeated
murder
destruction
innocent
terrorists
car bombs
terrorists
suicide bomber
terrorists
behead
hostages
atrocities
savage
violence
terrorists
terrorists
Iraqi civil war
free
terrorists
kill
innocent
freedom
enemies
September the 11th
[Abu Musab al-] Zarqawi
bin Laden
security
defeat
enemy
free
war on terror
free
free
tyranny
hard
war
even harder
troops
security
security
security
terrorists
insurgents
anti-terrorist campaign
Operation Lightning
free
terrorists
insurgents
al Qaeda
terrorists
launch attacks
terrorists
terrorists
security
enemy
security
terrorists
insurgents
anti-terrorist
security
security
terrorists
insurgents
troops
security
enemies
freedom
combat
combat
combat
anti-terrorist
terror.
security
security
troops
troops
withdrawing U.S. forces
serious mistake
artificial timetable
wrong message
wrong signal
troops
wrong message
enemy
troops
troops
troops
troops
tyranny
oppression
regime
Saddam Hussein
brutally oppressed
regime
free
freedom
freedom
freedom
free
freedoms
enemies
free
free
free
nuclear weapons
chemical and nuclear weapons
freedom
freedom
freedom
radicalism
ideologies of murder
safer
blind hatred
lethal weapons
atrocity
warfare
morality
innocent
chaos
September 11, 2001
terrorists
car bombers
assassins.
freedom
radicalism
terror
terrorists
attack
kill
difficult work
tyranny
firm
evil
strike
work is hard
freedom
troops
troops
freedom
freedom
freedom
September 11, 2001
difficult
difficult
enemies
brutal
God

"Some contend that we should set a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces. Let me explain why that would be a serious mistake." - Bush 2005

"I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn." - Bush 1999

Ryan

[dcooper]

Great catch, Ryan. I hadn't seen his comments from 1999. Interesting stuff.

[krabapple]

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/06/28/in- ... timetable/

n 1999, Bush Demanded A Timetable

In 1999, George W. Bush criticized President Clinton for not setting a timetable for exiting Kosovo, and yet he refuses to apply the same standard to his war.

George W. Bush, 4/9/99:

“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”

And on the specific need for a timetable, here’s what Bush said then and what he says now:

George W. Bush, 6/5/99

“I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.”

[ed. note: article originally ran in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on 6/5/99]

VERSUS

George W. Bush, 6/24/05:

“It doesn’t make any sense to have a timetable. You know, if you give a timetable, you’re — you’re conceding too much to the enemy.”

[Patrick M]

Is that a flip flop?

[Rspaight]

Only Democrats flip-flop. Republicans are just right all the time, no matter what.

See, in 1999, Bush was talking about Clinton. Obviously, Clinton was wrong, so criticizing him was right. Now, though, Bush is President, so what he says goes. So, he's right again.

It's fun being a Republican.

Ryan

[MK]

Aw, we're just fucked, period. He put us in a shitty situation, and there's no easy way out. No way he can make a reasonable timetable, not if they tried, and with the insurgency still going on, yanking troops out doesn't seem like a great idea. Not sure if deploying MORE would be a better idea, either. We're plain fucked and we're gonna stew in it for the next couple of years whether we like it or not.

I need a beer....

[lukpac]

Some fun threads thanks to dear old Madison:

http://www.madison.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=3392
http://www.madison.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=3393

[Rspaight]

Note to Matt: See above links for some examples of well-argued conservative viewpoints.

They're still wrong, of course, but at least well-argued.

Ryan

[Rspaight]

On the topic of Saddam and 9/11 -- it's very clear that he was involved in 9/11, but we can't tell you why. Sorry. Trust us. That should be good enough to send your children to die.

By the way, be sure to fly the flag on the Fourth. Thanks.

GOP lawmaker: Saddam linked to 9/11
N.C. representative says 'evidence is clear'

Wednesday, June 29, 2005; Posted: 9:12 a.m. EDT (13:12 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Republican congressman from North Carolina told CNN on Wednesday that the "evidence is clear" that Iraq was involved in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.

"Saddam Hussein and people like him were very much involved in 9/11," Rep. Robin Hayes said.

Told no investigation had ever found evidence to link Saddam and 9/11, Hayes responded, "I'm sorry, but you must have looked in the wrong places."

Hayes, the vice chairman of the House subcommittee on terrorism, said legislators have access to evidence others do not.

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said that Saddam was a dangerous man, but when asked about Hayes' statement, would not link the deposed Iraqi ruler to the terrorist attacks on New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

"I haven't seen compelling evidence of that," McCain, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN.

On Tuesday night, President Bush mentioned the September 11 attacks five times during his address on the war in Iraq, prompting criticism from congressional Democrats.

The 9/11 commission, appointed by Bush, presented its final report a year ago, saying that Osama bin Laden had been "willing to explore possibilities for cooperation with Iraq" at one time in the 1990s but that the al Qaeda leader "had in fact been sponsoring anti-Saddam Islamists in Iraqi Kurdistan, and sought to attract them into his Islamic army."

The 520-page report said investigators found no evidence that any "contacts ever developed into a collaborative operational relationship."

"Nor have we seen evidence indicating that Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States," it said.

President Bush said in September 2003 that "We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the September 11 [attacks]."

Nevertheless, Hayes insisted that the connection between al Qaeda and Saddam and "folks who work for him" has been seen "time and time again."

"Nobody disputes 9/11," Hayes said. "They would do it again if not prevented."

Ryan