The Bush Speech
By docj Posted in User Blogs — Comments (5) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
In case any of us were wondering if anything beyond the Miers nomination (on which I've personally quipped for the last time until the ABA has their say) was happening out there, President Bush gave a speech this morning before the National Endowment for Democracy.
I've yet to locate a transcript from the speech, which I had the good fortune to hear in it's entirety given that I was late (very) and in traffic (also, very) this morning getting to work. That being the case, I'll take from the linked AP piece:
President Bush, trying to reverse a slide in public support for the war in Iraq, said Thursday that Islamic radicals are seeking to "enslave whole nations and intimidate the world," and called that a prime reason not to cut and run in Iraq.
Well, it would not be a story from the Disassociated Press if it didn't start as a downer for the President, right?
Read on...
"There's always a temptation in the middle of a long struggle to seek the quiet life, to escape the duties and problems of the world and to hope the enemy grows weary of fanaticism and tired of murder," he said, seeking to address calls from anti-war activists for a U.S. troop withdrawal.
Unfortunately, the AP leaves off the next line - which is something along the lines of (going from memory here): Unfortunately, that is not the world in which we live. This seemed to me to be a gentile swipe and the Reality Based Community™, many of whom appear to be under the illusion that we could just leave Iraq and everything would be okey-dokey. It was, I believe one of the more effective passages from what was, as it turns out, a pretty darn good speech.
The President repeatedly, and I believe both accurately and smartly, linked Islamic Radicallism to communism (and frankly, this pull-quote does not do it justice):
"Against such an enemy, there's only one effective response: We never back down, never give in and never accept anything less than complete victory," Bush declared. ...
"We are facing a radical ideology with immeasurable objectives to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world," Bush said.
Sound familiar?
The President also hit on and reiterated some themes that have gone some time without being spoken:
Countering claims that the U.S. military presence in Iraq is fueling radicalism, Bush noted that American troops were not there on Sept. 11, 2001. He said Russia did not support the military action in Iraq, yet a terrorist attack in Beslan, Russia, left more than 300 schoolchildren dead in 2004.
"The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in the war against humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war on terror," he said.
"Our commitment is clear -- we will not relent until the organized international terror networks are exposed and broken and their leaders held to account for their acts of murder," Bush said.
The president said that no one should underestimate the difficulties ahead, nor should anyone be pessimistic about U.S. efforts to battle terrorism.
Of course, the AP couldn't cover such an address without diving into the Talking Points™
He spoke as recent polls show declining American support for the war that has thus far claimed more than 1,940 members of the U.S. military. His Iraq policy faces a crucial test in Iraq's Oct. 15 referendum on a new constitution, a vote that Bush has said terrorists will try to derail.
When the transcript from the 40-minute speech is available I will post a link in the comments section because it is well worth a read. It was, as I said previously, a pretty darn good speech. It is, in fact, precisely the sort of speech I've been wanting him to give for months. He spelled out a clear vision, did not do very much sugar-coating at all, was forceful and determined. He clearly brought his "A-game" to this speech and it is my hope that he keeps up the intensity.
I have many differences with this President, but the GWOT is not among them. He seemed to me to be on vacation for some time from this - the single, most important issue he (or any President) could ever face. I hope with this address he is "back" - to stay, this time.
And high time too.
I didn't have the chance to hear it, but the written word (the transcript) is good enough in parts.
Some passages I found really compelling:
Together, we've killed or captured nearly all of those directly responsible for the September the 11th attacks; as well as some of bin Laden's most senior deputies; al Qaeda managers and operatives in more than 24 countries; the mastermind of the USS Cole bombing, who was chief of al Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf; the mastermind of the Jakarta and the first Bali bombings; a senior Zarqawi terrorist planner, who was planning attacks in Turkey; and many of al Qaeda's senior leaders in Saudi Arabia.
Oh yeah! This is the sort of thing we need to hear, and often. All we ever get from the Big Left Media are casualty figures of U.S. soldiers, Iraqi military/police, and innocent civilians. We are taking them down, and this is just good news.
Overall, the United States and our partners have disrupted at least ten serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. We've stopped at least five more al Qaeda efforts to case targets in the United States, or infiltrate operatives into our country.
Again, more good news, more facts that I can't get from the BLM. More success in the GWOT, and frankly, we need to hear about these successes as well.
Third, we're determined to deny radical groups the support and sanctuary of outlaw regimes. State sponsors like Syria and Iran have a long history of collaboration with terrorists, and they deserve no patience from the victims of terror. The United States makes no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support and harbor them, because they're equally as guilty of murder. (Applause.) Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also chosen to be an enemy of civilization. And the civilized world must hold those regimes to account.
It's high time we called Syria and Iran out on their support for terrorists. It's high time we start doing something about it, and start backing up the words with action.
Some observers look at the job ahead and adopt a self-defeating pessimism. It is not justified. With every random bombing and with every funeral of a child, it becomes more clear that the extremists are not patriots, or resistance fighters -- they are murderers at war with the Iraqi people, themselves.
Another point that needs to be made with vigor, and often. The enemy cannot defeat us; the enemy can only make us defeat ourselves.
Some observers also claim that America would be better off by cutting our losses and leaving Iraq now. This is a dangerous illusion, refuted with a simple question: Would the United States and other free nations be more safe, or less safe, with Zarqawi and bin Laden in control of Iraq, its people, and its resources?
Thank you Mr. Bush for taking this pernicious thinking on directly.
There's always a temptation, in the middle of a long struggle, to seek the quiet life, to escape the duties and problems of the world, and to hope the enemy grows weary of fanaticism and tired of murder. This would be a pleasant world, but it's not the world we live in.
In that emphasized sentence is the reason why I am a Republican today. 9/11 was the wakeup call from a pleasant dream world. Bush needs to make this point over and over again, in my view.
The time has come for all responsible Islamic leaders to join in denouncing an ideology that exploits Islam for political ends, and defiles a noble faith.
He could have been a little stronger here, but I understand why he couldn't go overboard with the rhetoric.
And finally, my favorite passage:
We don't know the course of our own struggle -- the course our own struggle will take -- or the sacrifices that might lie ahead. We do know, however, that the defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice. We do know the love of freedom is the mightiest force of history. And we do know the cause of freedom will once again prevail.
-TS
Perhaps it's because I heard it being delivered live, but I actually thought it read as sort of dry. Still, parts of it read very well and (important) were clear, concise, yet still comprehensive.
No one is going to mistake GWB for Sir Winston, or Baroness Margaret, or President Reagan - but he can still give a darn good speech from time to time, and this was one of them.
Just in time, too. He needed this.
Cheers.
A great speech. Finally Bush has named the enemy--Islamofascism. It took 4 years from 911 for this to happen, but OK. A major semantic obstacle has been cleared away.
Kudos also have to go to Tony Blair for his August speech after the London subway jihad attacks, where Blair also named the enemy.
This is major progress.
is available on the Whitehouse website.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/#
Transcript here.