I knew that this speech was going to be special, and I expected to be spitting mad when it was over… but all I felt was sick.
I’m not going to scream or hurl invective today. I can’t. I told a friend & fellow blogger, yesterday, that I was going to do this without swearing, and I shall. Having said that, I offer the following remarks.
First, I have to say that Mr. Bush looked somewhat more subdued lat night...
...than he did in May of 2003...
...when he announced: "Mission Accomplished"
Mr. Bush, staying true to form, started his speech with this line:
“Good evening. Tonight in Iraq, the armed forces of the United States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the global war on terror – and our safety here at home”
Of course, this is a load of crap, but, I won't go any further in parsing the President's speech, because various media outlets started doing that seconds after he stopped speaking.
All I can say about this speech is that it is stunningly clear to me that George W. Bush is operating in a world of his own, and is out of touch with reality, if he believes that increasing troop levels by 15 percent is going to be the key to "victory" in this insurgency.
I believe that Mr. Bush's "change in strategy" will do no more than escalate and prolong this war and leave, whomever follows him in the Presidency, holding the bag.
There you have it... the President of The United States is going to buy himself out of failure by spending the lives of our soldiers.
In his mind, his legacy will be one of stout resolution in the face of danger, even when everything was going worng. He will have been a "war President" who was tough. Of course, history won't record it that way, but his devout followers, all 13 of them, will believe it, and all it will cost is this:
Just so that George W. Bush can save face.
For shame.
14 comments:
GF, Great post! I watched a few minutes (even tho' I said I wasn't going to), and then couldn't take it anymore.
Thoughtful, truthful and thus heartbreaking. Nice use of restraint!
Amen. I couldn't agree with you more. I truly tried to watch all of his speech, but I only made it through a few minutes before I became completely disgusted. And sick is exactly how I feel as well. Thank you for saying exactly what I'm thinking, but doing it so well.
Very well-written post.
Amen! Out of curiosity, GF, what would your exit strategy be? Perhaps that could be fodder for a new post. :)
You're a finer person than I am for watching Shrub's speech. I can't even watch the man anymore. His voice is grating and patronizing. He's like watching a train wreck in protracted, wide angle, slow motion.
God help the men and women whose lives he's about to unnecessarily put on the line (not to mention the ones he already has.) What a colossal waste.
Bent,
Stay tuned... you have inspired me to write... that will be part of my evening entertainment tonight (I need to get out more, eh?)
Awesome job once again my friend.
I personally anything I say about George has already been said about him 100-fold, so I will save my breath there.
How odd is it that we talked of impeaching Clinton and yet there is no talk of doing the same to Bush?
Admittingly I am not that knowledgable in politics, but it amazes me what people can get away with.
What do you think would shorten the period of killing in Iraq?
Moobs,
There will be a massive bloodletting in Iraq whether American troops are there or not.
With our invasion, we let that particular genie out of the bottle by removing the only thing that kept him inside.
Well said. Does he think we don't get that "surge" still means he's sending good money after bad to Iraq and 20,000 troops is still 20,000 human lives? The whole thing makes my skin crawl.
Great post and extremely restrained! I was driving home while the speech was on. NPR was carrying it. I tried to listen and just couldn't. I shut it off.
This is the first time I've read your blog, found you via, Crankmamma. I don't think there is a good way to exit Iraq, Bush opened a can of worms when he went in there and there are no easy answers. What he has done though is produce a whole new generation of men and women now as well, that will be severely fucked up for years to come because of what they've been through. It's too bad the US government didn't learn anything from Vietnam.
Nothing good comes from people dying, doesn't matter what race, color or religion those people are, it's bad for the human race.
Hello Deb! and welcome!
Alas, I agree with you.... this will haunt not only the United States, but the rest of the world for generations.
Cheers,
GF
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