[Grovenet] Text of President's Speech

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

As usual, you ask an excellent question Ed. And a terrible question. It's
one I've thought about a great deal as I watched our national orgy of
patriotism over the Iraq war turn into a nation orgy of denial and disgust. 

The American people voted for as many deaths as we think was necessary when
we invaded Iraq. War is about wounding people and destroying facilities.
Since the facilities to be destroyed are often occupied and since wounding
soldiers is not an exact science, people die. Often innocent civilians as
well as combatants. 

It's what we glorify every time we sing our national anthem. Those "bombs
bursting in air" are engines of death that we note express a national
willingness to kill as we see fit. 

A civilized nation and a civilized world would not resort to death and
violence. Many nations and their people recognize that and are striving to
find a better way to provide for our mutual security. However, it's clear
that America is not leading that effort. It seems that we barely tolerate
it. If one looks at our cries of horror at the idea that any international
body might have control over our choices to prevent aggression, it seems
clear that America promotes war over peace. We suffer boot-shaking fright
over any suggestion that we might not be able to attack anyone we choose
whenever we choose. America has demonstrated that we will kill any millions
we feel needed to ensure not just our safety but also our prosperity and
comfort. 

We knew Iraq was an armed camp, kept at peace by the credible threat of
death from Saddam's government for anyone who disturbed that peace. We know
that when one rules by the gun, one faces guns in the hand of opponents.
Iraq was a country filled with thugs ready to depose Saddam if they had the
chance. The bulk of the people of Iraq lived in security only by the
credible threat posed by Saddam against anyone who would threaten that
security. We went into Iraq and disarmed Saddam and his government and
allowed the thugs to run free. We left Iraq's borders open to all the thugs
in the Middle East who wanted to come rape and rob its resources and its
people. We kept as few soldiers as possible in harm's way and allowed the
thugs to kill and destroy rather than risk American lives.

The President admits that he and his planners did not understand the
situation in Iraq when we invaded. The President says we are responsible for
stopping the killing and destruction to bring security to the surviving
innocent Iraqis. We need to put soldiers in front of those civilians in
sufficient numbers to protect them. It may take decades. It will require
billions if not trillions of our dollars, but it's the least we owe the
Iraqi people for what we've done to them and their country. 

Or does America want to run away and pretend we didn't do anything so
terribly wrong as destroy a society and the lives and futures of millions of
people?

Ron D'Eau Claire  



-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Ed Davie
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 9:03 PM
To: Forest Grove local interests list
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Text of President's Speech


Sort of depends on how many more deaths you are 
willing to accept, doesn't it!
Ed

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ron D'Eau Claire
  To: 'Forest Grove local interests list'
  Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:48 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] 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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