Italicized text is personal commentary
Bush rejects Iraq pullout, defends mission
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Saturday rejected calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and tried to counter growing impatience with the war by calling it a "vital test" for American security. You know, because we were attacked by them and Bush is, after all, a 'war president.'
"The mission isn't easy, and it will not be accomplished overnight," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Coming under renewed attack for his rationale for invading Iraq in March 2003, Bush described the conflict as part of the broader U.S. war on terrorism. He said stabilizing Iraq and quelling the insurgency were important for American interests, such as weapons manufacturing, which happens to be diverting funds from things like education. But to hell with America's future. Why prepare the next generation for tomorrow when you could be spending lots of money and blowing things up now?
"Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but all of us can agree that the world's terrorists have now made Iraq a central front in the war on terror, despite the Madrid train attack, as well as the countless others that have taken place while I poked around for those 'WMDs,'" Bush said.
"By making their stand in Iraq, the terrorists have made Iraq a vital test for the future security of our country and the free world, despite the fact that, well, everyone was originally in Afghanistan. I don't even remember looking for the Tallybran. Laura probably picked up some more last time she went to the grocery store. Hell, I can't even fix my own breakfast. Tee hee," he added.
A congressional resolution proposed this week calls on the Bush administration to develop a strategy for removing all U.S. troops from Iraq and to begin the withdrawal by Oct. 1, 2006. Two Republicans are among its backers.
Bush's radio address zeroed in on Iraq and the economy, two issues he plans emphasize in coming weeks.
On the economy, Bush said his tax-cutting policies had put the United States "on the track to growth." He talked of his Social Security effort in the address, but put first his drive for ratification of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement - again opting to live for today (retirement for future generations? Nope, I'd rather make my tequila duty-free!) - and the push to rewrite U.S. energy policy.
The emphasis on those topics marks a shift from the U.S. president's concentration this year on the campaign to overhaul (eliminate)Social Security -- a push that has proven unpopular.
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, delivering the Democratic response to Bush's address, accused the U.S. president of putting Social Security under attack with his plan and said his proposals would hit farm families especially hard.
"Farm families have tight budgets, and most don't have access to employer retirement accounts such as 401K plans," he said. "In fact, three out of four farmers fund their own retirement. They depend on Social Security when the crop yield is low or the weather is bad."
While nervousness over Social Security appears to have hurt Bush's poll numbers, concern about the Iraq war also seems to have contributed to the slide. But George has no problem with that, as the slide is his favorite piece of playground equipment (despite the fact that he always tries to climb it backwards).
Fifty-one percent of Americans believe the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, according to a New York Times/CBS poll published on Friday. This is a cause of some consternation for the President, because he's only 2% away from a mandate. And well, rumor has it he's quite the homophobe.
Bush went to war warning of a threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but those were never found. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Bush had also warned of links between Saddam Hussein's government and terrorist groups. As it turned out, those links were merely web address bookmarks. Saddam loved reading Osama's blog.
Criticism of the illicit weapons rationale has been rekindled after the surfacing of a British government memo that said that by July 2002 U.S. intelligence was being "fixed" around a policy that would inevitably lead to war with Iraq. Not that it comes as any surprise. Again, war president.
Bush has acknowledged there was no evidence Saddam's government helped al Qaeda plan the Sept. 11 attacks. But the administration cites Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the most feared insurgent group in Iraq, as evidence of the terrorist link. Zarqawi has declared loyalty to al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden. Many experts, however, regard Zarqawi's group as autonomous - perhaps even a rival to Osama Bin Laden's organization. Nevertheless, he was the reason for attacking Saddam. Hey, nobody told Bush that anything he did actually had to make sense. Oh well...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Saturday rejected calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and tried to counter growing impatience with the war by calling it a "vital test" for American security. You know, because we were attacked by them and Bush is, after all, a 'war president.'
"The mission isn't easy, and it will not be accomplished overnight," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
Coming under renewed attack for his rationale for invading Iraq in March 2003, Bush described the conflict as part of the broader U.S. war on terrorism. He said stabilizing Iraq and quelling the insurgency were important for American interests, such as weapons manufacturing, which happens to be diverting funds from things like education. But to hell with America's future. Why prepare the next generation for tomorrow when you could be spending lots of money and blowing things up now?
"Some may disagree with my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but all of us can agree that the world's terrorists have now made Iraq a central front in the war on terror, despite the Madrid train attack, as well as the countless others that have taken place while I poked around for those 'WMDs,'" Bush said.
"By making their stand in Iraq, the terrorists have made Iraq a vital test for the future security of our country and the free world, despite the fact that, well, everyone was originally in Afghanistan. I don't even remember looking for the Tallybran. Laura probably picked up some more last time she went to the grocery store. Hell, I can't even fix my own breakfast. Tee hee," he added.
A congressional resolution proposed this week calls on the Bush administration to develop a strategy for removing all U.S. troops from Iraq and to begin the withdrawal by Oct. 1, 2006. Two Republicans are among its backers.
Bush's radio address zeroed in on Iraq and the economy, two issues he plans emphasize in coming weeks.
On the economy, Bush said his tax-cutting policies had put the United States "on the track to growth." He talked of his Social Security effort in the address, but put first his drive for ratification of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement - again opting to live for today (retirement for future generations? Nope, I'd rather make my tequila duty-free!) - and the push to rewrite U.S. energy policy.
The emphasis on those topics marks a shift from the U.S. president's concentration this year on the campaign to overhaul (eliminate)Social Security -- a push that has proven unpopular.
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, delivering the Democratic response to Bush's address, accused the U.S. president of putting Social Security under attack with his plan and said his proposals would hit farm families especially hard.
"Farm families have tight budgets, and most don't have access to employer retirement accounts such as 401K plans," he said. "In fact, three out of four farmers fund their own retirement. They depend on Social Security when the crop yield is low or the weather is bad."
While nervousness over Social Security appears to have hurt Bush's poll numbers, concern about the Iraq war also seems to have contributed to the slide. But George has no problem with that, as the slide is his favorite piece of playground equipment (despite the fact that he always tries to climb it backwards).
Fifty-one percent of Americans believe the United States should have stayed out of Iraq, according to a New York Times/CBS poll published on Friday. This is a cause of some consternation for the President, because he's only 2% away from a mandate. And well, rumor has it he's quite the homophobe.
Bush went to war warning of a threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but those were never found. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Bush had also warned of links between Saddam Hussein's government and terrorist groups. As it turned out, those links were merely web address bookmarks. Saddam loved reading Osama's blog.
Criticism of the illicit weapons rationale has been rekindled after the surfacing of a British government memo that said that by July 2002 U.S. intelligence was being "fixed" around a policy that would inevitably lead to war with Iraq. Not that it comes as any surprise. Again, war president.
Bush has acknowledged there was no evidence Saddam's government helped al Qaeda plan the Sept. 11 attacks. But the administration cites Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the most feared insurgent group in Iraq, as evidence of the terrorist link. Zarqawi has declared loyalty to al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden. Many experts, however, regard Zarqawi's group as autonomous - perhaps even a rival to Osama Bin Laden's organization. Nevertheless, he was the reason for attacking Saddam. Hey, nobody told Bush that anything he did actually had to make sense. Oh well...