Bush War Spin World Tour 2007
From The White House:
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Welcome to the White House. You know, I get to welcome a lot of guests here.
Like the many times you welcomed imprisoned GOP lobbyist Jack Abrammoff.
I appreciate your tireless work to send a clear signal that many in the United States of America support our troops. Each of you knows what is stake — what is at stake in this war on terror. And I appreciate your efforts to rally our nation to support our troops,
They deserve our support 100%.
…and to support the mission for which they have risked and, in some cases, have given their lives.
Wait a second, Chimpy…we support the backdoor-drafted troops, not Cheney’s quagmire mission to illegally invade and privatize another country’s nationalized oil industry…
Many of the families here today have relatives serving in harm’s way. Others have lost loved ones in the struggle. They have come here to Washington with a message for their elected leaders in our nation’s capital: Our troops need the resources, equipment and weapons to fight our enemies.
Say what? I clearly heard, “Stop your illegal war, President Bush. Bring our children, husbands, and wives home now.” I think all that “fight our enemies” talk was just Satan doing his God immitation in your ear again…
Congress needs to pass an emergency war spending bill, without strings and without further delay.
And you, sir, need to get your head out of your keister and show us a sensible plan for bringing our National Guard home within a year’s time.
On Wednesday, I will meet with congressional leaders from both parties right here at the White House. I’m going to pass on your message to them.
Seriously? You’re going to recommend they impeach your whole lying, motley-minded administration? I doubt that. Let’s just hope the congressional leaders pass on our message to you: Start Getting Out of Iraq and End The Occupation.
The families gathered here understand that we are a nation at war. Like me, they wish we weren’t at war
Care to say that under a lie detector, Mr. Bull-Headed War-Monger?
— but we are. They know that the enemies who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001 want to bring further destruction to our country.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich told congress who was responsible for letting 9/11 happen, all right. And we should impeach you and your administration before you illegally invade another nation and destroy what remains of the U.S. Constitution.
They know that the only way to stop them is to stay on the offense, to fight the extremists and radicals where they live, so we don’t have to face them where we live.
Clarification request: Are destroying documents, refusing to hand over emails, and obstructing an investigation offensive manuevers?
The families gathered here understand that our troops want to finish the job.
Unfortunately, the job description keeps changing on them. At first, the job description was finding WMD. Then it was liberating Iraq from Saddam. Now it’s defeating Evil. But you know it’s always been about privatizing Iraq’s nationalized oil industry and making an Iraq/Afghanistan sandwich out of Iran. No, I don’t think the families really do understand that. Why don’t you explain this to them during your next prime time interruption…
Families gathered here understand that America is not going to be safe until the terrorist threat has been defeated. If we do not defeat the terrorists and extremists in Iraq, they won’t leave us alone — they will follow us to the United States of America. That’s what makes this battle in the war on terror so incredibly important. One of the lessons of September the 11th is what happens overseas matters to the security of the United States of America, and we must not forget that lesson.
A bigger lesson of September the 11th is what happens when your President goes on vacation for a month and ignores memos entitled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”
The consequences of failure in Iraq would be death and destruction in the Middle East and here in America.
As opposed to the ongoing death and destruction in the Middle East and to the loved ones of people here in America.
It’s a remarkable country, isn’t it, where people stand up and volunteer to serve the United States in uniform during a time of war.
It’s a remarkable country that keeps a volunteer enlisted with a backdoor draft, sending them back to Iraq three times against their will, and then extending their tours from 12 to 15 months, then putting them in a roach-infested hospital or even wriggling out of its responsibility for their medical care when they return.
And, yet, that’s who we honor here today.
You call that honor? I call it a knife in the back.
We must give our men and women in uniform the tools and resources they need to prevail.
Then make it law: Voting machines must leave a paper trail.
Providing these resources is the responsibility of the United States Congress. And that is why, 70 days ago, I sent Congress an emergency war spending bill that would provide the vital funds our troops urgently need. But instead of approving this funding, Democrats in Congress
Plus a couple of Republicans…
…have spent the past 70 days pushing legislation that would undercut our troops. They passed bills in the House and the Senate that would impose restrictions on our military commanders.
The handpicked generals you appointed after getting rid of the generals who said the course you’ve set is looney tunes…
They set an arbitrary date for withdrawal from Iraq.
They gave you another year…a grand total of five years…to finish a job you originally promised would take less than six months at the worst.
And they spend billions of dollars on domestic projects that have nothing to do with the war.
Unlike the $9 billion the Pentagon lost in Iraq, which supposedly had something to do WITH the war, but had everything to do with Halliburton, KBR, and who knows who instead.
After passing these unacceptable bills, House and Senate leaders then chose to leave town for spring recess, without resolving their differences or sending any legislation to my desk.
So, while they were gone, you made three appointments that congress opposed, including naming Sam Fox ambassador to Belgium; Fox…the guy that donated $50,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group that attacked Kerry’s record in the Vietnam War. Nice.
As Congress delays, the clock is ticking for our troops.
Hey, wait…you said timetables only encouraged al Qaeda. Better not mention clocks.
Listen, I understand Republicans and Democrats in Washington have differences over the best course in Iraq. That’s healthy. That’s normal. And we should debate those differences. But our troops should not be caught in the middle. Last week, the Senate returned to Washington, and this week the House has returned, as well. I’ve invited congressional leaders of both parties to meet me at the White House two days from today. That’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re supposed to talk out our differences. I’m looking forward to the meeting. I hope the Democratic leadership will drop their unreasonable demands for a precipitous withdrawal.
You want everybody else to make sacrifices and make tough compromises. But what are you going to compromise on, Mr. Bush?
I am willing to discuss any way forward that does not hamstring our troops, set an artificial timetable for withdrawal, and spend billions on projects not related to the war.
And congress appears to be willing to discuss any way forward that does not make the promised six month war run over five years long and $400 billion over estimates.
Read More: bush, bush administration, iraq, iraq war, war on terror
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Every time he speaks I feel like I’m in the movie Ground Hog Day.
The same guy, the same speech and the same subject. 20 more months of this old rerun.There must be a God, because he either is laughing his ass off, or just plain punishing us for all our excessive ways.
Everytime he speaks I recall all the inbred, deformed and insane little monarchs from the pages of history. I find myself wondering what event and what people or person with be the catalyst for change.
“…the President is, in no wise, satisfied with his own positions. First he takes up one, and in attempting to argue us into it, he argues himself out of it; then seizes another, and goes through the same process; and then, confused at being able to think of nothing new, he snatches up the old one again, which he has some time before cast off. His mind, tasked beyond it’s power, is running hither and thither, like some tortured creature, on a burning surface, finding no position, on which it can settle down, and be at ease. …As I have before said, he knows not where he is. He is a bewildered, confounded, and miserably perplexed man. God grant he may be able to show, there is not something about his conscious, more painful than all his mental perplexity!” ~Congressman Abraham Lincoln, lambasting President Polk over the Mexican War.
Some things never change…
Well said.
His behavior is emblematic of a philosophically bankrupt, baseless, opportunistic non-ethic. He is constantly dealing with the shifting sands of the outrageous fortune his own actions help generate. With no fundamentally honest principle to anchor him, he grasps at straws to help dig his way out of his own hole.
I see this reflected throughout society, sadly.
I find myself pondering the elements of terror.
Bushes seeming inconsistency does serve to keep us all off balance…which is an element of terror.
Let us not forget, he seldom “loads his own lip”.
And…he (and his wrecking crew) are very consistent about one thing: Single minded pursuit of the war no matter what.
btw, I just noticed he has ordered all flags at half staff.
Since according to http://www.juancole.com, there are two Virginia Tech size incidents a day in Iraq, then I suppose we should have been half staff for the last 4 years….and since there are 3300 dead and 30,000 wounded USA soldiers, which is over 100 times the Virginia Tech event.
I’m not a Demmie, but find myself wondering why they don’t capitalize on obvious points like that. Someone also mentioned that the War Powers Act DOES give congress the right to “manage” the war…yet not a “hit back” from the Demmies. They just seem to like giving ground to the Republicans without a fight.
Xman: I was just thinking along those same lines over lunch. See the next post.
Joe,
Excellent point/post.
Hmmm….who is authorized to order flags at half mast?
Sounds like a nice anti war campain.
A whole nation flying at half mast until we get out of Iraq. That would put pressure on the pres. and his party.
Seems like an easy statement our lilly-livered countrymen might be able to manage.
I think I’ll look it up.
I think that’s a great idea, Xman. If elected draft-dodging politicians who die of old age get the flag lowered, then soldiers who give their last drop of blood for their country deserve to not only get the flag over their coffin, but also to have every damn flag in the nation they’re fighting for lowered to half mast.
Here are the half-staff rules. Looks like only the Prez has to make a proclamation to get all flags lowered. Fat chance Bush would do that. But governors can get flags lowered in individual states…
Thanks, Joe.
Yeah, can’t see a way it would benefit Bush, but it could be used by the Dems. However, wouold it be used honestly by the Dems. They don’t really sound like they really want to get out of Iraq before we secure our “interests”.
It still does sound like an interesting tactic that could be put to good use. Now, we need a strategy….