Unfortunately, I missed the President's speech last night. Being that we're still at work at 8pm est on the West Coast, I walked into a meeting just as he came on, and walked out just as news was playing the highlights. By the time I got home, had dinner with the family, walked Calvin and Hobbes, put the boys to bed, shared evening conversation with Mrs. Atos, and put in some study time... sleep followed shortly thereafter. And that is a normal day, with no extraneous surprises."Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war. Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home. The commander in charge of Coalition operations in Iraq — who is also senior commander at this base — General John Vines, put it well the other day. He said: "We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we deal with it when it comes to us."
Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists. We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability — and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren.
The work in Iraq is difficult and dangerous. Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying — and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country. And tonight I will explain the reasons why..."
- President of The United States of America, George W. Bush
(Excerpt - The full text of President Bush's June 28, 2005, remarks on the war in Iraq )
Parusing my news sources and blogrolls this morning, it looks as though I missed one great speech. The transcripts are good, but I suspect, they don't do the message justice. Despite the pokes, I think this President is a great communicator in his own right. In Texas, we don't need fluff. Just make the point and move on. If some don't get it, make it again. If they still don't get the point, heat up the branding iron.
I see, that from Nancy Pelosi's reponse to the President's speech, she 'get's it!'
"As the President noted, it is only one year after the return of sovereignty, but it has been 27 months since the President launched his pre-emptive strike. Iraq is now what it was not when the war began - a magnet for terrorism..."
The problem is that she doesn't know it.
"... because the President invaded Iraq with no idea of what it would take to secure the country after Baghdad fell. The insurgency took root in the unstable conditions that have now existed in substantial parts of Iraq for far too long."
She is correct when she says,
"The American people understand what is at stake in Iraq and in the Middle East..."
Clearly she and and her fellow Democrats absolutely do not.
"That is why it is so disappointing that the President failed tonight, as he has failed consistently since the war began, to lay out specifics for success, including performance benchmarks. "
The President has been profoundly consistent all along. On the Campaign trail last year, The President reiterated the message that has been the basis of America's strategy in the war on Terror from the very beginning:
“We are fighting terrorists overseas so we do not have to face them here at home."Relate this to his State of the Union speech from 2002.
Shazam, Pelosi! Our armed, trained troops are the magnet for terrorists on the frontier of chaos...Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction.
Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th. But we know their true nature...... States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic.
...So that our defenseless children are not terrorist's targets on our front porch.
The full transcript of The President's speech can be found here. Great analyses of the President's speech can be read here...
Hugh Hewitt
Powerline
Captain's Quarter's
Carol Platt-Liebau
Rush has posted several links demonstrating the connecting between Saddam and Terrorism, here, here, here, and here.
Update...
Doug Tennapel points out that Lefties are horrified with our success. And they are clearly terrified of America recalling the truth that the War in Iraq has always been about 9/11; for everyone including the terrorists, as the President illustrated with profound clarity:
Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: “This Third World War … is raging” in Iraq. “The whole world is watching this war.” He says it will end in “victory and glory or misery and humiliation.”
Indeed!
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