Bush to address nation this evening

[DosEquis]

He declared major combat over, which was clearly not the case. He flew to the carrier to make his political statement, and that the Iraqi army was defeated. At that point I really do think the banner is fairly accurate. From that point on this whole thing has had to be in the Iraqi hands. Only they can fix their problems, and it started on "Mission accomplished" day. That was the day we won the war. The war has been over. We are a occupation force, a security force, a police force, and have been for 4 years.

[motivez]

should* buy into the hype.

[Donkey®]

Here's the text to his speech.

Originally Posted by Bush

Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln, my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country.

In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty, and for the peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are proud of this accomplishment — yet it is you, the members of the United States military, who achieved it. Your courage — your willingness to face danger for your country and for each other — made this day possible. Because of you, our nation is more secure. Because of you, the tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.

Operation Iraqi Freedom was carried out with a combination of precision, and speed, and boldness the enemy did not expect, and the world had not seen before. From distant bases or ships at sea, we sent planes and missiles that could destroy an enemy division, or strike a single bunker. Marines and soldiers charged to Baghdad across 350 miles of hostile ground, in one of the swiftest advances of heavy arms in history. You have shown the world the skill and the might of the American Armed Forces.

This nation thanks all of the members of our coalition who joined in a noble cause. We thank the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland, who shared in the hardships of war. We thank all of the citizens of Iraq who welcomed our troops and joined in the liberation of their own country. And tonight, I have a special word for Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld, for General (Tommy) Franks, and for all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States: America is grateful for a job well done.

The character of our military through history — the daring of Normandy, the fierce courage of Iwo Jima, the decency and idealism that turned enemies into allies — is fully present in this generation. When Iraqi civilians looked into the faces of our servicemen and women, they saw strength, and kindness, and good will. When I look at the members of the United States military, I see the best of our country, and I am honored to be your commander in chief.

In the images of fallen statues, we have witnessed the arrival of a new era. For a hundred years of war, culminating in the nuclear age, military technology was designed and deployed to inflict casualties on an ever-growing scale. In defeating Nazi Germany and imperial Japan, Allied Forces destroyed entire cities, while enemy leaders who started the conflict were safe until the final days. Military power was used to end a regime by breaking a nation. Today, we have the greater power to free a nation by breaking a dangerous and aggressive regime. With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians. No device of man can remove the tragedy from war. Yet it is a great advance when the guilty have far more to fear from war than the innocent.

In the images of celebrating Iraqis, we have also seen the ageless appeal of human freedom. Decades of lies and intimidation could not make the Iraqi people love their oppressors or desire their own enslavement. Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food, and water, and air. Everywhere that freedom arrives, humanity rejoices. And everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.

We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We are bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We are pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. We have begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons, and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. We are helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people. The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. And then we will leave — and we will leave behind a free Iraq.

The Battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001, and still goes on. That terrible morning, 19 evil men — the shock troops of a hateful ideology — gave America and the civilized world a glimpse of their ambitions. They imagined, in the words of one terrorist, that September the 11th would be the "beginning of the end of America." By seeking to turn our cities into killing fields, terrorists and their allies believed that they could destroy this nation's resolve, and force our retreat from the world. They have failed.

In the Battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed the Taliban, many terrorists, and the camps where they trained. We continue to help the Afghan people lay roads, restore hospitals, and educate all of their children. Yet we also have dangerous work to complete. As I speak, a special operations task force, led by the 82nd Airborne, is on the trail of the terrorists, and those who seek to undermine the free government of Afghanistan. America and our coalition will finish what we have begun.

From Pakistan to the Philippines to the Horn of Africa, we are hunting down al-Qaida killers. Nineteen months ago, I pledged that the terrorists would not escape the patient justice of the United States. And as of tonight, nearly one-half of al-Qaida's senior operatives have been captured or killed.

The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We have removed an ally of al-Qaida, and cut off a source of terrorist funding. And this much is certain: No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because the regime is no more.

In these 19 months that changed the world, our actions have been focused, and deliberate, and proportionate to the offense. We have not forgotten the victims of September the 11th — the last phone calls, the cold murder of children, the searches in the rubble. With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States. And war is what they got.

Our war against terror is proceeding according to principles that I have made clear to all:

Any person involved in committing or planning terrorist attacks against the American people becomes an enemy of this country, and a target of American justice.

Any person, organization, or government that supports, protects, or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent, and equally guilty of terrorist crimes.

Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups, and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction, is a grave danger to the civilized world, and will be confronted.

And anyone in the world, including the Arab world, who works and sacrifices for freedom has a loyal friend in the United States of America.

Our commitment to liberty is America's tradition — declared at our founding, affirmed in Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, asserted in the Truman Doctrine, and in Ronald Reagan's challenge to an evil empire. We are committed to freedom in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and in a peaceful Palestine. The advance of freedom is the surest strategy to undermine the appeal of terror in the world. Where freedom takes hold, hatred gives way to hope. When freedom takes hold, men and women turn to the peaceful pursuit of a better life. American values, and American interests, lead in the same direction: We stand for human liberty.

The United States upholds these principles of security and freedom in many ways — with all the tools of diplomacy, law enforcement, intelligence, and finance. We are working with a broad coalition of nations that understand the threat, and our shared responsibility to meet it. The use of force has been, and remains, our last resort. Yet all can know, friend and foe alike, that our nation has a mission: We will answer threats to our security, and we will defend the peace.

Our mission continues. Al-Qaida is wounded, not destroyed. The scattered cells of the terrorist network still operate in many nations, and we know from daily intelligence that they continue to plot against free people. The proliferation of deadly weapons remains a serious danger. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. Our government has taken unprecedented measures to defend the homeland — and we will continue to hunt down the enemy before he can strike.

The war on terror is not over, yet it is not endless. We do not know the day of final victory, but we have seen the turning of the tide. No act of the terrorists will change our purpose, or weaken our resolve, or alter their fate. Their cause is lost. Free nations will press on to victory.

Other nations in history have fought in foreign lands and remained to occupy and exploit. Americans, following a battle, want nothing more than to return home. And that is your direction tonight. After service in the Afghan and Iraqi theaters of war — after 100,000 miles, on the longest carrier deployment in recent history — you are homeward bound. Some of you will see new family members for the first time — 150 babies were born while their fathers were on the Lincoln. Your families are proud of you, and your nation will welcome you.

We are mindful as well that some good men and women are not making the journey home. One of those who fell, Corporal Jason Mileo, spoke to his parents five days before his death. Jason's father said, "He called us from the center of Baghdad, not to brag, but to tell us he loved us. Our son was a soldier." Every name, every life, is a loss to our military, to our nation, and to the loved ones who grieve. There is no homecoming for these families. Yet we pray, in God's time, their reunion will come.

Those we lost were last seen on duty. Their final act on this earth was to fight a great evil, and bring liberty to others. All of you — all in this generation of our military — have taken up the highest calling of history. You are defending your country, and protecting the innocent from harm. And wherever you go, you carry a message of hope — a message that is ancient, and ever new. In the words of the prophet Isaiah: "To the captives, 'Come out!' and to those in darkness, 'Be free!"'

Thank you for serving our country and our cause. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless America.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by JaJae

There were tons of threads over pork. And the difference is there was pork in bills, but only because they had majority and the bills were going to pass anyway. They weren't buying votes to get a bill to pass, the bills that had pork were going to pass anyway. Most of the pork was added on to war supplemental bills which had virtually no chance of being turned down regardless if it had pork or not. Which is why they added it... free money for stupid things. While that was wrong, it was just wasting money, not buying votes.

No. They put unrelated garbage in there such as pork because they knew there was no way it was going to vetoed. They were doing more than "buying votes", they were questioning the patriotism of anyone who dared to stand up and complain about the unrelated spending.

Originally Posted by JaJae

I don't understand the point of that picture. Have you heard the speech he gave that day?

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

The end of major combat operations in Iraq.

I can't believe the lenghts people will go to defend this shit.

[DosEquis]

"The Battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001, and still goes on."

"In these 19 months that changed the world, our actions have been focused, and deliberate, and proportionate to the offense. We have not forgotten the victims of September the 11th — the last phone calls, the cold murder of children, the searches in the rubble. With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States. And war is what they got."

Nice correlations of Iraq to 9/11 attacks, with which Iraq had nothing to do with.

"The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We have removed an ally of al-Qaida...."

Compelete horse shit as al Qaida had not been an ally of Saddam.

"And this much is certain: No terrorist network will gain weapons of mass destruction from the Iraqi regime, because the regime is no more."

Yeah, and because well they weren't there.

"Any person, organization, or government that supports, protects, or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent, and equally guilty of terrorist crimes."

Unless its Saudi..they get a free pass

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by DosEquis

Unless its Saudi..they get a free pass

And Pakistan.

[thomez]

Originally Posted by 7960

But it doesn't.

How do you know people are voting the same way on non-binding issues as they would if it really counted?

I think the non-binding resolutions show how they really feel, they might not vote that way on a binding resolution because they lack testicles.

[JaJae]

Originally Posted by Scrum

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

The end of major combat operations in Iraq.

I can't believe the lenghts people will go to defend this shit.

Aren't you always the one who says we're not at war anymore, etc, but simply policing a civil war and thus our soldiers should come home? It can't be had both ways.

That speech was in regards to defeating Saddam's army, but warned of the exact situation we're in today.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by JaJae

Aren't you always the one who says we're not at war anymore, etc, but simply policing a civil war and thus our soldiers should come home? It can't be had both ways.

What?

I'm not trying to have it both ways. It seems that you are.

The mission was accomplished and we are policing a civil war. That's one of the many reasons we should leave.

Originally Posted by JaJae

That speech was in regards to defeating Saddam's army, but warned of the exact situation we're in today.

Amazing that he had the foresight for that, yet had no idea there were two kinds of Muslims being held in check by Saddam.

I think just about everyone has had enough of Bush and this war. They haven't made a single good decision in these past 4 years.

[DosEquis]

GHWB called it "Bush Fatigue"

[JaJae]

Originally Posted by Scrum

What?

I'm not trying to have it both ways. It seems that you are.

The mission was accomplished and we are policing a civil war. That's one of the many reasons we should leave.

Amazing that he had the foresight for that, yet had no idea there were two kinds of Muslims being held in check by Saddam.

The are many missions to a war. By defeating Saddam's Army one very crucial mission was completed. Faulting a president for giving a victory speech over the defeat of Saddam's army is a bit absurd in my opinion, especially when he warned of the events that have followed.

I'm not asking to have it both ways because I'm not criticizing him over numerous incidents that contradict each other.

I think just about everyone has had enough of Bush and this war. They haven't made a single good decision in these past 4 years.

I think that shows a very strong bias. If someone can't find one thing during this war that they agreed with Bush on they're likely doing so for partisan reasons. I mean, even every Democrat voted to change Generals to Petraeus on Bush's recommendation. There has to be something, saying there hasn't been a single good decision surely can't be accurate.

[BigRob]

Originally Posted by Scrum

So I take it you have problems with every piece of legislation the Republicans have passed over the past 6 years?
They were filled with pork and I don't remember seeing any threads made by you denouncing it.

The shoe is on the other foot now and you guys crying about i0t makes you look like hypocrites.

The problem is that this is not a war for us to win. It's a war between factions in the ME.

Do you feel like you can win the Patriots/Dolphins game?

This "liberal don't want us to win" bullshit is stupid. Perhaps you have noticed that many people who aren't liberal or members of the democratic party agree.

The funds are there. He is choosing not to take them. Yes, he is cutting off funding to the troops.

After all the mismanagement that has already happened you want to write them a blank check? What a horrible idea.

The kind of war that armies fight is over. They are not a security force.

1) Considering I've only been posting on this site for about 3 months and I didn't even own a computer six years ago, it would of been hard for me to comment back then. So I'm not a hypocrite, but you are ignorant.

2) (quick simple version)There once were two guys named Hitler and Hirohito. They decided they wanted to start taking over huge sections of the world and kill people. The US didn't want to get involved because our society was isolationist at the time and suffering from a depression in the economy. After all, they were fighting on the other side of the world and it didn't involve us, we had our own problems. Unofficially, we supplied Britian. The fighting over there was slowly going the way of the Germans and Japanese.
Then there was Pearl Harbor, and the US got involved. Our enrty late in the fight turned the tide so that the Allies won and the armies Hitler and Hirohito were defeated.
How many lives could've been saved and how much quicker would the war have ended if we stepped in earlier? Why wait again? These guys have done declared their intent and attempting to aquire the means to carry it out, why give them the opportunity?

3) Of course liberals don't want us to win. They are the one's that require our troops to be attacked before we can shoot back. It's hard to distinguish between a civillian and a civillian with a bomb strapped on them. If it's a case of kill or be killed, I want our guys to kill first. They are the one's on the battlefield and can make the decision if they are in danger or not. Liberals are the one's complaining about Guantanomo(sp?) even though those guys have actually put on weight and have more amenities. Meanwhile Americans get kidnapped,tortured, and their heads cut off and posted on the internet.

4)He's not cutting off funding Congress is purposly passing a funding bill they know won't be passed and using that as an excuse to attack Bush politically

But if they passed something reasonable then he would sign it! Having a withdrawl date is just plain stupid. Let's just give the bad guys all our stategy,secrets, and might as well give them a key to the back door so they can come on in!!!Hell, lets give them a gun to use to shoot us in the back while we have it turned to them as we leave. We get out when we are done, we are done when they get their head's out of their asses and act civilized. Otherwise, problems will continue to develope and we'll have to keep going back. We might as well do it right the first time. A blank check is not as bad as giving up and turning our back. That's BEYOND STUPID.

War is not over until everybody is dead, or the peace treaty is signed and cease fire takes place. They won't give up, why should we?

[thomez]

[DosEquis]

Originally Posted by BigRob

3) Of course liberals don't want us to win. They are the one's that require our troops to be attacked before we can shoot back. It's hard to distinguish between a civillian and a civillian with a bomb strapped on them. If it's a case of kill or be killed, I want our guys to kill first. They are the one's on the battlefield and can make the decision if they are in danger or not. Liberals are the one's complaining about Guantanomo(sp?) even though those guys have actually put on weight and have more amenities. Meanwhile Americans get kidnapped,tortured, and their heads cut off and posted on the internet.

First of all, this is complete horseshit. Liberals dont want the US to lose and it is generals who determine the rules of engagement. In this case we can't just shoot anyone who looks suspicious as we are trying to "win the hearts and minds" of the Iraq people. When we kill innocent people it is detrimental to what we are trying to accomplish. Secondly Gitmo was not the peaches and creme luxury beach condos that Sean Hannity would like you to believe. There was also other places/locations which methods of torture were used, and were in clear violation of the geneva convention. When we violate something we helped create we look hypocritical and stupid. Not to mention torture does not work as an interrogation method. Liberals do not want america to lose, but we have already lost politically. We won everything we could win with our military. Its time to put our military in to a different role and reduce their presence. Only the Iraqi people can fix this now, we need to put ourselves in a role that minimizes influence from the outside..such as Iran, syria, and al qaida.

4)He's not cutting off funding Congress is purposly passing a funding bill they know won't be passed and using that as an excuse to attack Bush politically.

But if they passed something reasonable then he would sign it! Having a withdrawl date is just plain stupid. Let's just give the bad guys all our stategy,secrets, and might as well give them a key to the back door so they can come on in!!!Hell, lets give them a gun to use to shoot us in the back while we have it turned to them as we leave. We get out when we are done, we are done when they get their head's out of their asses and act civilized. Otherwise, problems will continue to develope and we'll have to keep going back. We might as well do it right the first time. A blank check is not as bad as giving up and turning our back. That's BEYOND STUPID.

War is not over until everybody is dead, or the peace treaty is signed and cease fire takes place. They won't give up, why should we?

Withdrawl date or no date, the "enemy" is going to know when we are leaving. You can't exactly sneak out 150,000 soldiers. There would be no difference in "we are leaving may 15th" or if all of the sudden may 15th there is 30,000 less soldiers. This whole debate on withdrawl dates is kind of stupid. Furthermore putting a date out there does not give away our secrets, strategies, or anything else. All they know is a date, a date they'd know anyway when their town suddenly shrank by 15,000 americans. There is no clear cut enemy. Shia and Sunni militias that want us to leave are attacking our soldiers, and when they are not shooting at us they turn their rifles at each other. We are in the middle of their civil war, and al qaida was not there until we removed saddam.

They put a bill in his face that would fund it, he turned it down. Saying "I will veto that if it gets here" is not a political way out, even though it seems you are giving him a free pass on it because he got his preemptive statement out there.

At least I know the new goal for 'victory' in Iraq, that being the Iraqis getting their heads out of their asses and acting civilized. Keep me posted on what the next victory condition will be because I am sure it will change in 3 weeks.

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by thomez

I couldn't have put it any better myself.

I really wish people remembered what they learned in social studies about checks and balances.

[SoFlaJDM]

Originally Posted by thomez

werd

[Donkey®]

Originally Posted by BigRob

I guess there really is no response to Ballz Lite.


At least you got this right.