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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (26599)	8/27/2003 10:43:16 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 89467

He's tangled up in his web of lies. Of course people whose husbands, brothers and sons Bush has betrayed are protesting him in his own backyard...Bush Declares Violence in Iraq Tests U.S. Will Out of both sides of his twisted lips: "The remnants of Saddam's regime are still dangerous, and terrorists are gathering in Iraq to undermine the advance of freedom," (Thanks to Bush)Mr. Bush said. "Al Qaeda and the other global terror networks recognize that the defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime is a defeat for them. (So they're showing the idiot president they've not been defeated by joining forces in Iraq?) By RICHARD W. STEVENSON T. LOUIS, Aug. 26 — President Bush characterized the continuing fighting in Iraq today as "a point of testing in the war on terror," and vowed that the United States would not back down there or anywhere it confronts violent Islamic extremism. In a broad defense of his foreign policy, Mr. Bush suggested that pacifying Iraq, hunting down Al Qaeda and bringing peace to the Middle East were all part of a larger struggle against terrorists fearful of democracy and civilized values. His speech here, to the annual convention of the American Legion, came a year to the day after Vice President Dick Cheney used an appearance before another veterans' group, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, to set out the administration's first rationale for war with Iraq. Mr. Cheney had emphasized the threat of Saddam Hussein's deploying chemical, biological or nuclear weapons or sharing them with terrorists. But no such weapons have been found, and Mr. Bush mentioned them only in passing. He did not repeat his administration's prewar assertions that Mr. Hussein had ties to Al Qaeda, but made a general argument about the threat from those who hate, among others, "Christians and Jews and every Muslim who does not share their narrow and violent vision." He made the case that failing to take the fight to terrorists wherever they are would expose the United States to attacks at home. "Our military is confronting terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan and in other places so our people will not have to confront terrorist violence in New York or St. Louis or Los Angeles," he said. Facing pressure from both parties to do more to protect American troops and bring Iraq under control, he said he would "work with the Congress to make sure we provide the resources to do the work of freedom and security," a reference to the likelihood that peacekeeping will require more money. "Retreat in the face of terror would only invite further and bolder attacks," he said. "There will be no retreat." Today, the toll of American casualties since May 1, when Mr. Bush proclaimed the end of major combat operations, rose above the number who died during the war. But he made no specific mention of sending more troops. Nor did he offer any hint that he would be willing to cede any control over the military operation to the United Nations in order to build a broad coalition there. While acknowledging that the struggle to rebuild Iraq remained dangerous and would not end quickly, he emphasized the positive, suggesting that attacks like the bombing of the United Nations compound in Baghdad last week were acts of desperation by terrorists the United States has put on the run. "The remnants of Saddam's regime are still dangerous, and terrorists are gathering in Iraq to undermine the advance of freedom," Mr. Bush said. "Al Qaeda and the other global terror networks recognize that the defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime is a defeat for them. "They know that a democratic Iraq in the heart of the Middle East would be a further defeat for their ideology of terror. They know that the spread of peace and hope in the Middle East would undermine the appeal of bitterness, resentment and violence. And the more progress we make in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists will become. Freedom is a threat to their way of life." In lumping the forces attacking the United States and its allies in Iraq together with Al Qaeda and, to a lesser extent, with violent Palestinian organizations, he glossed over their differing agendas and motives and the varying threats they pose. He spoke instead of the violence emanating from the Muslim world as a force demanding a long-term commitment to defend the principles of tolerance and freedom. "No act of terrorists will weaken our resolve or alter their fate," he said. "Our only goal, our only option, is total victory in the war on terror, and this nation will press on to victory." Continued 1 \| 2 \| Next>>http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/27/international/worldspecial/27PREX.html