Bush Hails 'Victory in War on Terror'
(*notices how Bush fudges 9-11 and Saddam together)
Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Friday, May 2, 2003
In a powerful speech on the pitching deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, Commander-in-Chief George Bush declared that the toppling of Saddam Hussein was “a victory in a war on terror,” and pledged that “we will continue to hunt for the enemy before he can strike.”
Interrupted by the cheers and applause of thousands of homeward bound crewmembers, Bush spoke of the recent Iraq campaign as part of the general U.S. offensive against terrorism, declaring, “We don’t know the day of victory, but we’ve seen the turn of the tide.”
“Al-Qaida is wounded but not destroyed. It continues to plot against free peoples,” Bush declared, adding that U.S. “patient justice” has already resulted in the capture or killing of one-half of the senior al-Qaida operatives.
The President emphasized that on September 11 “terrorists declared war on the United States, and war is what they got.” Reviewing the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan, the President said that the battle there destroyed the Taliban and the terrorists they trained, pointing out that the 82nd Airborne Division was still on the trail of terrorists in that country.
Addressing the enthusiastic crowds of gathered sailors and Marines, the President praised them and the other members of the armed forces. “Because of you our nation is more secure; the tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.”
Bush noted that the Iraq campaign was accomplished with unprecedented “speed and boldness,” rapidly covering 350 miles of hostile ground into the capital of Baghdad. “America is grateful for a job well done.”
Bush also said that unlike the wars of the past, the Iraq campaign illustrated that the “guilty have far more to fear than the innocent,” further noting that the military action had uncovered “hundreds of sites that will be investigated [for weapons of mass destruction]."
“The coalition forces will stay until the work is done,” Bush said, being careful not to declare the end of the conflict in a manner that would have significance and potential impact under international law – including speedy repatriation of prisoners of war.
The President arrived aboard the vessel via an arrested landing in a tactical aircraft – the first sitting President to undergo the exhilarating and dangerous military evolution.
* This proves why this dishonest and inept president has to go. |
