[Grovenet] Text of President's Speech

[muriel Gordon]

lol , hope all in the grove are doing wonderful. (best group around for all sides!)
Yes the world is waiting and so are our troops overseas.
may we stand behond them and in the end, whenever that may be, may they come home safely to welcome arms.
Watched the Presidents speech, tune was more to my liking, I sincerely hoep we do come up with an answer for all to at least halfly agree on, which is more then we can hope for. There needs to be some sort of deadline and or ending.
Glad to be recovering from my neck surgery, and back online!
Muriel


Happiness keeps You Sweet,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human,
Failures keeps You Humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only God keeps You Going!





From: Ron D'Eau Claire<mailto:rondec at easystreet.com> 
  To: 'Forest Grove local interests list'<mailto:grovenet at rdrop.com> 
  Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 10:48 PM
  Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Text of President's Speech


  Thank you Katie. 

  Whether or not the President was expressing the "will of the people" when he
  invaded Iraq is no longer the issue. The fact is he did, acting as the Chief
  Executive of our country and with the consent of our elected Congress. 

  Now the question is whether we live up to our responsibilities as a world
  leader and as a nation who caused the current situation in Iraq to occur in
  our solemn belief that the U.N. was not able or willing to do the "right
  thing" (i.e. invade Iraq), or whether we will cut an run like irresponsible
  children crying, "Oh! That's HARD! Americans don't do things  that are Hard!
  We only want to do  EASY things!!!"

  This is the moment for America to define who she is among the nations of the
  world.

  The world is awaiting our decision.

  And, Oh, Welcome to Keith. Please understand that I ALWAYS respond in
  measured, moderate tones. I never advocate a position that is controversial
  or difficult <G>. 

  I do believe what I say, and I listen carefully to those who disagree. 

  Ron D'Eau Claire 


  -----Original Message-----
  From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com<mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com> [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
  Behalf Of allnutt
  Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 9:18 AM
  To: Forest Grove local interests list
  Subject: [Grovenet] Text of President's Speech


  For those who missed last night's speech, here is the text:

  THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight in Iraq, the Armed Forces of the United
  States are engaged in a struggle that will determine the direction of the
  global war on terror -- and our safety here at home. The new strategy I
  outline tonight will change America's course in Iraq, and help us succeed in
  the fight against terror. 

  When I addressed you just over a year ago, nearly 12 million Iraqis had cast
  their ballots for a unified and democratic nation. The elections of 2005
  were a stunning achievement. We thought that these elections would bring the
  Iraqis together, and that as we trained Iraqi security forces we could
  accomplish our mission with fewer American troops. 

  But in 2006, the opposite happened. The violence in Iraq -- particularly in
  Baghdad -- overwhelmed the political gains the Iraqis had made. Al Qaeda
  terrorists and Sunni insurgents recognized the mortal danger that Iraq's
  elections posed for their cause, and they responded with outrageous acts of
  murder aimed at innocent Iraqis. They blew up one of the holiest shrines in
  Shia Islam -- the Golden Mosque of Samarra -- in a calculated effort to
  provoke Iraq's Shia population to retaliate. Their strategy worked. Radical
  Shia elements, some supported by Iran, formed death squads. And the result
  was a vicious cycle of sectarian violence that continues today.

  The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people -- and it is
  unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done
  everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the
  responsibility rests with me. 

  It is clear that we need to change our strategy in Iraq. So my national
  security team, military commanders, and diplomats conducted a comprehensive
  review. We consulted members of Congress from both parties, our allies
  abroad, and distinguished outside experts. We benefitted from the thoughtful
  recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan panel led by former
  Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. In our
  discussions, we all agreed that there is no magic formula for success in
  Iraq. And one message came through loud and clear: Failure in Iraq would be
  a disaster for the United States. 

  The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow
  in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position to
  topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil
  revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of
  nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and
  launch attacks on the American people. On September the 11th, 2001, we saw
  what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring to
  the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America must
  succeed in Iraq. 

  The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is security, especially in
  Baghdad. Eighty percent of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles
  of the capital. This violence is splitting Baghdad into sectarian enclaves,
  and shaking the confidence of all Iraqis. Only Iraqis can end the sectarian
  violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an
  aggressive plan to do it. 

  Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There
  were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had
  been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many
  restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the
  new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that
  it does. They also report that this plan can work. 

  Now let me explain the main elements of this effort: The Iraqi government
  will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their
  capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police
  brigades across Baghdad's nine districts. When these forces are fully
  deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades committed
  to this effort, along with local police. These Iraqi forces will operate
  from local police stations -- conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints,
  and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents. 

  This is a strong commitment. But for it to succeed, our commanders say the
  Iraqis will need our help. So America will change our strategy to help the
  Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring
  security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American
  force levels. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops
  to Iraq. The vast majority of them -- five brigades -- will be deployed to
  Baghdad. These troops will work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in
  their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help
  Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local
  population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable
  of providing the security that Baghdad needs. 

  Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous
  operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences: In
  earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of
  terrorists and insurgents, but when our forces moved on to other targets,
  the killers returned. This time, we'll have the force levels we need to hold
  the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and
  sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into
  neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This
  time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter those
  neighborhoods -- and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or
  sectarian interference will not be tolerated. 

  I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that
  America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not
  follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American
  people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time
  to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his people
  just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for
  any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation." 

  This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings,
  assassinations, or IED attacks. Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort
  to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and
  suffering. Yet over time, we can expect to see Iraqi troops chasing down
  murderers, fewer brazen acts of terror, and growing trust and cooperation
  from Baghdad's residents. When this happens, daily life will improve, Iraqis
  will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the
  breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Most of
  Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace -- and reducing the
  violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible. 

  A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary
  Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible
  improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So America will hold
  the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced. 

  To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take
  responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November. To give
  every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass
  legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis. To show that it is
  committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10
  billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that
  will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold
  provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter
  their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification
  laws, and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's
  constitution. 

  America will change our approach to help the Iraqi government as it works to
  meet these benchmarks. In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq Study
  Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi Army
  units, and partner a coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We
  will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped army, and we will
  accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential U.S.
  security mission in Iraq. We will give our commanders and civilians greater
  flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance. We will double the
  number of provincial reconstruction teams. These teams bring together
  military and civilian experts to help local Iraqi communities pursue
  reconciliation, strengthen the moderates, and speed the transition to Iraqi
  self-reliance. And Secretary Rice will soon appoint a reconstruction
  coordinator in Baghdad to ensure better results for economic assistance
  being spent in Iraq. 

  As we make these changes, we will continue to pursue al Qaeda and foreign
  fighters. Al Qaeda is still active in Iraq. Its home base is Anbar Province.
  Al Qaeda has helped make Anbar the most violent area of Iraq outside the
  capital. A captured al Qaeda document describes the terrorists' plan to
  infiltrate and seize control of the province. This would bring al Qaeda
  closer to its goals of taking down Iraq's democracy, building a radical
  Islamic empire, and launching new attacks on the United States at home and
  abroad. 

  Our military forces in Anbar are killing and capturing al Qaeda leaders, and
  they are protecting the local population. Recently, local tribal leaders
  have begun to show their willingness to take on al Qaeda. And as a result,
  our commanders believe we have an opportunity to deal a serious blow to the
  terrorists. So I have given orders to increase American forces in Anbar
  Province by 4,000 troops. These troops will work with Iraqi and tribal
  forces to keep up the pressure on the terrorists. America's men and women in
  uniform took away al Qaeda's safe haven in Afghanistan -- and we will not
  allow them to re-establish it in Iraq. 

  Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and
  stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins with
  addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and
  insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is
  providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt
  the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and
  Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced
  weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq. 

  We're also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect
  American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of
  an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand
  intelligence-sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our
  friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to
  help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others
  to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region. 

  We will use America's full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq
  from nations throughout the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt,
  Jordan, and the Gulf States need to understand that an American defeat in
  Iraq would create a new sanctuary for extremists and a strategic threat to
  their survival. These nations have a stake in a successful Iraq that is at
  peace with its neighbors, and they must step up their support for Iraq's
  unity government. We endorse the Iraqi government's call to finalize an
  International Compact that will bring new economic assistance in exchange
  for greater economic reform. And on Friday, Secretary Rice will leave for
  the region, to build support for Iraq and continue the urgent diplomacy
  required to help bring peace to the Middle East. 

  The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a
  military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time. On
  one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation. On the other side
  are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to
  destroy our way of life. In the long run, the most realistic way to protect
  the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative to the hateful
  ideology of the enemy, by advancing liberty across a troubled region. It is
  in the interests of the United States to stand with the brave men and women
  who are risking their lives to claim their freedom, and to help them as they
  work to raise up just and hopeful societies across the Middle East. 

  >From Afghanistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian Territories, millions of
  >ordinary people are sick of the violence, and want a future of peace 
  >and opportunity for their children. And they are looking at Iraq. They 
  >want to know: Will America withdraw and yield the future of that 
  >country to the extremists, or will we stand with the Iraqis who have 
  >made the choice for freedom?

  The changes I have outlined tonight are aimed at ensuring the survival of a
  young democracy that is fighting for its life in a part of the world of
  enormous importance to American security. Let me be clear: The terrorists
  and insurgents in Iraq are without conscience, and they will make the year
  ahead bloody and violent. Even if our new strategy works exactly as planned,
  deadly acts of violence will continue -- and we must expect more Iraqi and
  American casualties. The question is whether our new strategy will bring us
  closer to success. I believe that it will. 

  Victory will not look like the ones our fathers and grandfathers achieved.
  There will be no surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship. But victory
  in Iraq will bring something new in the Arab world -- a functioning
  democracy that polices its territory, upholds the rule of law, respects
  fundamental human liberties, and answers to its people. A democratic Iraq
  will not be perfect. But it will be a country that fights terrorists instead
  of harboring them -- and it will help bring a future of peace and security
  for our children and our grandchildren. 

  This new approach comes after consultations with Congress about the
  different courses we could take in Iraq. Many are concerned that the Iraqis
  are becoming too dependent on the United States, and therefore, our policy
  should focus on protecting Iraq's borders and hunting down al Qaeda. Their
  solution is to scale back America's efforts in Baghdad -- or announce the
  phased withdrawal of our combat forces. We carefully considered these
  proposals. And we concluded that to step back now would force a collapse of
  the Iraqi government, tear the country apart, and result in mass killings on
  an unimaginable scale. Such a scenario would result in our troops being
  forced to stay in Iraq even longer, and confront an enemy that is even more
  lethal. If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the
  Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops
  begin coming home. 

  In the days ahead, my national security team will fully brief Congress on
  our new strategy. If members have improvements that can be made, we will
  make them. If circumstances change, we will adjust. Honorable people have
  different views, and they will voice their criticisms. It is fair to hold
  our views up to scrutiny. And all involved have a responsibility to explain
  how the path they propose would be more likely to succeed. 

  Acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of
  Congress, we will form a new, bipartisan working group that will help us
  come together across party lines to win the war on terror. This group will
  meet regularly with me and my administration; it will help strengthen our
  relationship with Congress. We can begin by working together to increase the
  size of the active Army and Marine Corps, so that America has the Armed
  Forces we need for the 21st century. We also need to examine ways to
  mobilize talented American civilians to deploy overseas, where they can help
  build democratic institutions in communities and nations recovering from war
  and tyranny. 

  In these dangerous times, the United States is blessed to have extraordinary
  and selfless men and women willing to step forward and defend us. These
  young Americans understand that our cause in Iraq is noble and necessary --
  and that the advance of freedom is the calling of our time. They serve far
  from their families, who make the quiet sacrifices of lonely holidays and
  empty chairs at the dinner table. They have watched their comrades give
  their lives to ensure our liberty. We mourn the loss of every fallen
  American -- and we owe it to them to build a future worthy of their
  sacrifice. 

  Fellow citizens: The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice, and
  resolve. It can be tempting to think that America can put aside the burdens
  of freedom. Yet times of testing reveal the character of a nation. And
  throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists and seen
  our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new struggle that
  will set the course for a new century. We can, and we will, prevail. 

  We go forward with trust that the Author of Liberty will guide us through
  these trying hours. Thank you and good night. 
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