Segmentation Fault: Core dumped..;-)

President Bush’s Press conference

Posted : September 23, 2004 at 6:37 pm [America/Los_Angeles]

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See, I think that the Iraq theater is a part of the war on terror. That’s what the prime minister said as well; he believes the same thing. He understands what’s going on there, after all, he lives there.

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President Bush and Iraq’s interim Prime Minister’s Press Conference

Sadly, Mr. President you’re right. Today, Iraq theater is indeed part of the War on Terror. However, in 2002, before you rushed into Iraq without thinking things through, Iraq theater was NOT a part of the War on Terror.

In other words, you and your arrogant neocon buddies made Iraq into something it was not before 2002.

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And I believe that if we wilt or leave, America’s security will be much worse off. I believe that if Iraq — if we fail in Iraq, it’s the beginning of a long struggle. We will not have done our duty to our children and our grandchildren.

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President Bush and Iraq’s interim Prime Minister’s Press Conference

Once again, I could not agree more. Senator Kerry agrees with you too. So, quit saying this “..wilt or leave..” phrase as if the one’s who oppose you (aka Yours truly) are saying that we want to leave Iraq the way it is. Quite the contrary. We need to fix Iraq, if not for us, for the Iraqi people. I cannot trust your leadership and your team’s policies in getting this done for two main reasons:

• You and your team’s poor judgement got us into this mess in the first place.
• You’ve had 18 months in Iraq and you and your Administration continue to “over-promise and under-perform”. Period.

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It’s hard work. The American people know that. But I believe it’s necessary work. And I believe a leader must be consistent and clear, and not change positions when times get tough. And the times have been hard. These are hard times. But I understand that — what mixed messages do. You can embolden an enemy by sending mixed message. You can dispirit the Iraqi people by sending mixed messages. You send the wrong message to our troops by sending mixed messages. That’s why I will continue to lead with clarity in — in — in a resolute way, because I understand the stakes. These are high stakes. And we’ll succeed.

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Ok, this is what really scares me, Mr. President. Let’s go over that line again:

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..And I believe a leader must be consistent and clear, and not change positions when times get tough. ..

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I am not sure what you mean by changing positions. No one is changing positions. Please tell me that by this you don’t mean that you’re NOT open to adjustments in your policies. Please tell me that I am just hallucinating to think that you’re showing your “stubborn” nature here.

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Anybody who says that we are safer with Saddam Hussein in power is wrong. We went into Iraq because Saddam Hussein defied the demands of the free world. We went into Iraq after diplomacy had failed. And we went into Iraq because I understand, after September the 11th, we must take threats seriously before they come to hurt us.

And I think it’s a preposterous claim to say that America would be better off with Saddam Hussein in power.

Why would we be not safer with Saddam in power. Americans were just fine for 11 years. Saddam was effectively contained and was barely half of what he was back in 1991. What went so horribly wrong that Saddam suddenly became lethal for American people in 2002. Why was containment and diplomacy not an option on the table, something that you gladly continue to pursue with N. Korea and Iran. In other words, I did not agree with you when you were throwing around every “reason” that you could find under the sun to invade Iraq. And I have no intention on believing you now.

As for the reasons why you went in, respectfully Sir, I think you would be better off to just (as your friend Bill O’Reilly would say) “shut up”. Your reasons for invading Iraq are about as useful to me as the contents of my Trash can. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

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As I said before, Iraq is a central part of the war on terror, and I believe it’s important for us to succeed there because of that.

See, 9/11 changed everything. September the 11th meant that we had to deal with a person like Saddam Hussein. Of course, I was hoping it could be done diplomatically, but diplomacy failed. And so the last resort of a president is to use force, and we did. And now we’re — we’re helping the Iraqis.

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“9/11 changed everything.” Yes, Mr. President. I know. You’ve left no stone unturned in reminding us that. And I am deeply troubled by what you and your Administration (along with your brethren in Media) has done in the name of 9/11 .

- Anand

Category: United (or not) State of American Politics 2004