Please, Endeth the Lesson
I don't want to harp on this, but it's really annoying the hell out of me...
From Bush's informal news conference last week:
Q: What can you tell the American people about how many more soldiers will die? And, also, your commander in Iraq said yesterday: two years, absolute minimum. Is that an assessment you share?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, we suffer when we lose life. I mean, our country is a country that grieves with those who sacrifice and our heartfelt sympathies and appreciation go to the loved ones of any soldier who's willing to defend the security of the United States -- and that's what they're doing in Iraq. It's very important to people to understand that this is a part of the war on terror, that we're dealing with terrorists today. We learned a lesson on September the 11th, and that is, our nation is vulnerable to attack. And we're doing everything we can to protect the homeland by making the homeland defense department effective and securing the borders. But the best way to secure America is to get the enemy before they get us. And that's what's happening in Iraq. And we're grateful for the sacrifices of our soldiers. I said, Scott, right after September the 11th, that this war on terror is a different kind of war, and it's going to take a while to win the war on terror. However long it takes to win the war on terror, this administration is committed to doing that, because our most solemn obligation is the protection of the American people. And as I said, the Secretary and I discussed what's happening inside of Iraq and we've got a lot of brave soldiers, slowly but surely demolishing the elements of the Baathist regime, those foreign terrorists who feel like they can use Iraq as a place to arm up and inflict casualty or perhaps gain strength to come and attack Americans elsewhere. We've been there a hundred days. We've made a lot of progress in a hundred days, and I am pleased with the progress we've made, but fully recognize we've got a lot more work to do.
Do you want to add to that, Mr. Secretary?
SECRETARY RUMSFELD: No, sir. (Laughter.)
Second verse, same as the first. Once again, we have a good, and potentially damaging question regarding the military's assement that they expect to be in Iraq for two more years. That's a touchy subject; the American people, particularly those currently wearing desert camouflage, don't want to hear that they're gonna be hearing about soldiers dying in Iraq for another two years. They want to hear, "Okay, we're done. Good job, guys. Let's go home. First beer's on the house" And how does President Bush deal with this sticky subject?
After another trademark quote ("We suffer when we lose life"), he brings up, yet again, the Lesson of September 11th (now apparently known as "September the 11th"), and it's about as applicable to the war in Iraq as it is to campaign finances. And it doesn't answer the question, but who cares? It's September 11th, the biggest (and seemingly the only) weapon in Bush's arsenal of political responses, and it does the job every time.
What's even more disturbing is when the Leader of the Free World starts saying things like, "the best way to secure America is to get the enemy before they get us." Because not only does it further the belief in every other country around the world that we're a bunch of xenophobic warmongers with itchy trigger fingers, it makes our president sound like someone who loved DR. STRANGELOVE but didn't get the joke.
Posted by eric k at August 11, 2003 12:45 AM