The speech itself was not one of the best, the delivery was awkward at times. President George W. Bush will never be known as a great orator. What matters is the content of the speech, which consisted of much more than just sending another 20,000 troops to Iraq.
The leaders of South Korea, Australia and Japan — all longtime supporters of the U.S.-led mission in Iraq — pledged continued political backing and material help. "If America retreats in Iraq, then that has enormous consequences for the stability of the Middle East and it will also be an enormous boost to terrorism in our part of the world," said Australian Prime Minister John Howard. (AP)
Of course, hardline anti-U.S. religious groups in places like Pakistan are against anything the U.S. will do.
"Occupation of any country will not succeed whether it is in Iraq or Afghanistan," said Shahid Shamsi, a spokesman for United Action Forum, an alliance of six Islamic groups."Hatred will increase against America and its allies whether they are in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan," said Shamsi, whose coalition has been a strong opposition voice in Pakistan's parliament since making gains in elections in 2002. source
What about the Iarqi people? This is their country after all. One report says, 'Iraqis weary of sectarian death squads and insurgent bombs nearly four years after the U.S.-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein voiced skepticism more troops would help. "The new strategies they are talking about are not going to solve any problem, only the people of this country will manage to solve this problem," said Baghdad resident Falah Mehdi.'
We want the Iraqi people to solve this problem, soon. I think President Bush's speech made this very clear, it's up to Iraq. Especially since there are so many foreign fighters in Iraq. 'Iraqi officials said Thursday that multinational forces detained as many as six Iranians in an overnight raid on Tehran's diplomatic mission in the northern city of Irbil, just hours after President Bush's speech.' More on foreign fighters at Webloggin.
Daniel Finkelstein at TimesOnline, reminds his readers of something Peggy Noonan asked on March 26, 2003, "Will America crumple at the sight of its own blood?".
How much will America be willing to suffer? What kind of losses will America accept and absorb, if it comes to that?The piece she wrote in March 2003 is very much worth re-reading today, following George Bush's announcement that he is sending fresh troops to Iraq.
Peggy had this to say:
My own hunch is that Americans are more patient, persevering and accepting of pain than we know. We found that out on 9/11, and we may be about to find it out again. But Americans are practical. They all know how to do a cost-benefit analysis. They will be patient, persevering and willing to absorb pain as long as they feel they can win and are winning. They will accept bodybags as part of the price of victory, but not for a second will they accept them if they start to see evidence of defeat.[snip]So he really had to choose between rapid and complete defeat or one more attempt at victory. That is why he has sent the fresh troops. For it is only so long as the American people believe that their political leadership is committed to victory that they will tolerate being in Iraq at all.
It seems listeners to the speech only heard 'more troops' to be sent to Iraq, and didn't pay much attention to the rest of the speech. Col. Oliver North, on Fox News this morning, said he had talked with the President a few weeks ago and that the President had apparently decided not to listen to his advice. However, Ollie did see the President's speech as positive in that (1) Bush put the responsibility on the Iraqi people and government; (2) Bush is emphasizing 'clearing and holding' the troubled areas, which apparently has not been the practice in the past; and (3) Bush is strongly behind the new efforts to build up the country's businesses and behind the push for sharing of oil profits among the different factions in Iraq.
Wake Up America has picked the speech apart and has good commentary on each point President Bush made. Go read it here.
Related:
“The Responsibility Rests With Me” Presidential SpeechRoundup, The Random Yak
The NEW Iraq War Has Begun: Report from the Battlefield, Yid With Lid
Health Care for All, Biga's Rants
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Rightwing Guy, Perri Nelson's Website, The Random Yak, The HILL Chronicles, stikNstein... has no mercy, basil's blog, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Stuck On Stupid, Dumb Ox News, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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