Bush speech 5/24/04: excerpts <my comments>:
"The return of tyranny to Iraq would be an unprecedented terrorist victory and a cause for killers to rejoice. It would also embolden the terrorists, leading to more bombings, more beheadings and more murders of the innocent around the world. <70-90% of the thousands of captives in Iraqi prisons are innocent. For them, tyranny hasn't ended.>
"The rise of a free and self-governing Iraq will deny terrorists a base of operation, discredit their narrow ideology and give momentum to reformers across the region... <A truly self-governing Iraq will probably hate us so much, they will openly support our enemies.>
"Iraq now faces a critical moment. As the Iraqi people move closer to governing themselves, the terrorists are likely to become more active and more brutal. <So, I guess "major hostilities" aren't quite over yet? And there are more than a few "dead-enders" and "remnants" left? Any end in sight?>
"There are difficult days ahead, and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic. <Be prepared for more incompetence and failed promises.>
"There are five steps in our plan to help Iraq achieve democracy and freedom: We will hand over authority to a sovereign Iraqi government; help establish security; continue rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure; encourage more international support; and move toward a national election that will bring forward new leaders empowered by the Iraqi people... <No real power is being handed over, security is bad and getting worse, our few allies are getting cold feet (and everyone else has said "hell no"). Not a single thing on his list is really happening, or has any realistic chance of happening.>
"Iraqis are proud people who resent foreign control of their affairs, just as we would. <Exactly. That's why they will keep killing our soldiers till we leave.>
"By keeping our promise on 30 June, the coalition will demonstrate that we have no interest in occupation. And full sovereignty will give Iraqis a direct interest in the success of their own government... <There isn't one in a hundred Iraqis who believes this. Even Chalabi has given up on us.>
"Our commanders had estimated that a troop level below 115,000 would be sufficient at this point in the conflict. Given the recent increase in violence, we will maintain our troop level at the current 138,000 as long as necessary... <Or until the American people have had enough of this colonial adventure.>
"Iraq's military police and border forces have begun to take on broader responsibilities. Eventually, they must be the primary defenders of Iraqi security as American and coalition forces are withdrawn. And we're helping them to prepare for this role... <Notice, he left the Iraqi Army off his list. That's because they turned their guns on Americans, the first time we asked them to fight.>
"The eventual goal is an Iraqi army of 35,000 soldiers in 27 battalions fully prepared to defend their country... <If 138,000 U.S. soldiers can't control the country, how are 35,000 Iraqis supposed to do it?>
"America has dedicated more than $20bn dollars to reconstruction and development projects in Iraq. <Most to which has lined the pockets of American companies who got sweetheart deals.>
"A new Iraq will also need a humane, well-supervised prison system. Under the dictator, prisons like Abu Ghraib were symbols of death and torture. <Which dictator, Bremer or Saddam?>
"America will fund the construction of a modern maximum security prison. <The problem wasn't the facilities. It was the people, and their training, and their oversight.>
At every stage, the United States has gone to the United Nations to confront Saddam Hussein, to promise serious consequences for his actions and to begin Iraqi reconstruction... <And when the UN didn't approve, we did what we wanted anyway.>
"There's likely to be more violence before the transfer of sovereignty and after the transfer of sovereignty. The terrorists and Saddam loyalists would rather see many Iraqis die than have any live in freedom. <These repeated warnings of open-ended war in Iraq, means Bush is finally realizing the Iraqis will keep killing us forever, or until we leave.>
"I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power. I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American. <The Big Lies, repeated yet again.>
"We did not seek this war on terror, but this is the world as we find it. We must keep our focus... <Waist deep in the Big Muddy, and the Big Fool says to push on...>
"The failure of freedom would only mark the beginning of peril and violence. But, my fellow Americans, we will not fail. We will persevere and defeat this enemy and hold this hard won ground for the realm of liberty. <The failure of freedom is ongoing, as our Imperial President suspends our most basic freedoms: habeas corpus, the right to a trial before imprisonment, the presumption of innocence, the rights of prisoners and POWs, etc. The President just says "illegal combatant" and "9/11", and sweeps every law, the Bill of Rights, and every treaty aside.>
"May God bless our country." <Which God would that be? It isn't the God who said, "love you enemies" and "forgive 7 times 7 times" and "blessed are the peace-makers." Must be Kali who he wants to bless us, Kali the Earth-Destroyer, Kali the Goddess of Vengeance and Death. |
