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September 2nd, 2006

President Bush can't fix Iraq in the next two months. His only political option is focus solely on spin and PR to try and trick Americans into forgetting what a mess Iraq is. He is desparate to invoke the emotion and fear of 9/11 to win back eroding support for his policy in Iraq.

BUSH: Good morning. This week, I spoke to the American Legion in Salt Lake City. I thanked the military veterans for their lifetime of service to our country. And I gave them an update on the war that America is now fighting in defense of freedom in our time.

We're approaching the fifth anniversary of the September the 11th attacks -- and since that day, we have taken the fight to the enemy. Yet this war is more than a military conflict; it is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century. On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation -- the right of all people to speak, worship, and live in liberty. On the other side are those driven by tyranny and extremism -- the right of a self-appointed few to impose their fanatical views on all the rest. We did not ask for this war, but we're answering history's call with confidence -- and we will prevail.

Note Bush's obvious attempt to keep linking the war in Iraq to the 9/11 attacks. When asked directly, he is forced to admit that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but he knows he must keep that connection in the voters' minds to avoid a ballot backlash in November. This is also why he is making the case that we are fighting a single enemy, an absurd assertion that shows he either misunderstands our enemies (plural) or is willing to misinform Americans for political purposes. A Sunni insurgent in Iraq taking retribution against Shiite militia death squads has different tactics and objectives that a homegrown Islamic jihadist planning attacks in London. It is absurd and dangerous to link them together. Lastly, note Bush's attempt to nobilize the mess in Iraq by claiming we are fighting for democracy. Did Libya or Pakistan suddenly become democracies in order for us to recognize them as trading partners and allies? All of this flowery language is intended to persuade, not to inform.

BUSH: We are using every element of national power to defeat the terrorists. First, we're staying on the offense against the terrorists, fighting them overseas so we do not have to face them here at home. Second, we made it clear to all nations, if you harbor terrorists, you're as guilty as the terrorists, you're an enemy of the United States, and you will be held to account. And third, we have launched a bold new agenda to defeat the ideology of the enemy by supporting the forces of freedom and moderation in the Middle East and beyond.

The idea that fighting "them" over there so we don't have to fight "them" over here has no basis in logic. It is pure, unadulterated ignorance. There are two different "thems"! Some of the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11 trained in Bush's home state of Texas! The terrorists that bombed London in 2005 and those recently arrested in a failed airline plot were born and raised in the UK! The idea that terrorists can't get to the United States because our troops are holding them off in Iraq is absurd. Bush is hoping to exploit our geographical ignorance of the Middle East and depict some kind of front in which the enemy is on one side of the lines with our troops on the other holding them at bay. Any terrorist any where in the world who would like to commit an attack on American soil has many obstacles to overcome. How to get themselves and there munitions into the country without being detected being the primary obstacle. However, no terrorist need worry about the 140,000 U.S. troops stationed in Iraq, unless they are so foolish to book connecting flights through Baghdad. As for Bush's third point, we just undermined the forces of freedom and moderation by allowing Israel to bomb Lebanon despite the pleas of our allies in the Lebanese government to intervene.

BUSH: A vital part of our strategy to defeat the terrorists is to help establish a democratic Iraq, which will be a beacon of liberty in the region and an ally in the global war on terror. The terrorists understand the threat a democratic Iraq poses to their cause, so they've been fighting a bloody campaign of sectarian violence, which they hope will plunge that country into a civil war. Our commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended into a civil war. They report that only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, while the overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life in a unified country. America will stand with the Iraqi people as they protect their new freedom -- and build a democracy that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.

Bush has shown a consistent ignorance toward the enemy and has a terrible record of predicting what will unfold there. He oversimplifies the objectives of Iraqi Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents and foreign jihadists. Each has a different objective for fighting the U.S. occupation. Sunni insurgents are worried that they will suffer in a fragmented Iraq where they are the minority sect and will have little access to oil revenues. Radical Shiite militias fight the U.S. because they know they have a clear path to power using their own brutal tactics of repression once the U.S. is out of the way. Foreign fighters are gleeful at our presence in Iraq because it allows them to inflict daily damage on U.S. troops and western contractors that before they could only dream about. The idea of America standing with the Iraqi people shows that Bush hasn't come to terms with the nature of the conflict in Iraq. Again, he is unwilling to see or to admit that this is not a black and white battle of good vs. evil. It is an internal struggle between Iraqis that few Americans can come close to understanding. When Americans joke about not knowing the difference between Iraq and Iran, one can hardly expect there to be widespread understanding of the historical tensions between Sunnis and Shiites.

BUSH: Working side-by-side with Iraqi forces, we recently launched a major new campaign to end the security crisis in Baghdad. This operation is still in its early stages, yet the initial results are encouraging. The people of Baghdad are seeing their security forces in the streets, dealing a blow to criminals and terrorists. According to one military report, a Sunni man in a diverse Baghdad neighborhood said this about the Shia soldiers on patrol: "Their image has changed. Now you feel they are there to protect you." Over the coming weeks and months, the operation will expand throughout Baghdad -- until Iraq's democratic government is in full control of the capital. This work is difficult and dangerous, but Iraqi forces are determined to succeed -- and America is determined to help them.

How many "new beginnings" are we expected to get excited about? Baghdad is still a complete mess and anyone who watches the news knows that. Sadly, it is impossible to trust these supposed quotes from even a single Iraqi source since we have learned of the administrations willingness to pay a high price for good PR in Iraq. Bush also glosses over the fact that we had to put more troops in Iraq as part of this plan, which underscores the question "Just how long are we going to be stuck there?"

BUSH: Here at home, some politicians say that our best option is to pull out of Iraq, regardless of the situation on the ground. Many of these people are sincere and patriotic -- but they could not be more wrong. If America were to pull out before Iraq can defend itself, the consequences would be disastrous. We would be handing Iraq over to the terrorists, giving them a base of operations and huge oil riches to fund their ambitions. And we know exactly where those ambitions lead. If we give up the fight in the streets of Baghdad, we will face the terrorists in the streets of our own cities. The security of the civilized world depends on victory in the war on terror, and that depends on victory in Iraq, so America will not leave until victory is achieved.

You don't need to read between the lines much here. "Many" of Bush's critics are sincere and patriotic. Not most, just many. But they are all wrong. Trust Bush, the expert on what will happen in Iraq if we do or don't take a certain action. And what is Iraq defending itself against? We know that foreign fighters are a small part of the problem, so why again is Bush portraying this as a battle between friend and foe rather than accurately informing the American people of the true nature of the violence there? And again, the lie that if only our troops weren't in Iraq, those insurgents would be booking flights to New York and following our troops home.

BUSH: For all the debate, American policy in the Middle East comes down to a straightforward choice: We can allow the Middle East to continue on the course that led to September the 11th -- and a generation from now, our children will face a region dominated by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons. Or we can stop that from happening, by rallying the world to confront the ideology of hate, by supporting the forces of liberty and moderation in the region, and by helping give the people of the Middle East a future of hope. And that is the choice America has made.

Domino theory here we go again. We were told that if we pulled out of Vietnam, all of Asia would slide into communism. Today, Vietnam is a popular tourist destination, U.S. veterans of that war have returned to meet their former foes, and while still a communist nation, the ecomony is flourishing. Iraq, with or without U.S. occupation, has a bleak near term future. But we won't be handing over the country to terrorists. We will be handing the country over to the Iraqi government which was elected by the Iraqi people and they will face the same struggles that most fledgling governments face. Right now, the country of Somalia is mostly run by an Islamist militia with ties to Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has operations in many nations. We will have to fight terrorism in Iraq the same we fight it elsewhere, which is through exceptional intelligence and international cooperation.

BUSH: The path to victory will be uphill and uneven, and it will require more patience and sacrifice from our Nation. Yet we can be confident of the outcome, because America will not waver -- and because the direction of history leads toward freedom.

We aren't on a path to victory because Bush has no idea what victory even looks like in Iraq. However, he must convince Americans that the light at the end of the tunnel is right around the corner. Just long enough to eke out one more election cycle. All Bush has at his disposal is empty rhetoric, so expect him to make the most of it.

BUSH: Thank you for listening.

Your welcome.