Posted on 06/28/2005 8:09:35 PM PDT by smoothsailing
'As Iraqis Stand Up, We Will Stand Down,' Bush Tells Nation
By John D. Banusiewicz
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2005
On the one-year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq to a transitional Iraqi government, President Bush tonight promised that U.S. forces would remain in Iraq until the job is complete, "but not one day longer."
In a nationally televised speech at Fort Bragg, N.C., the president cited progress in Iraq and emphasized that the best way to complete the mission is to help the Iraqi people build a free nation they can govern and defend themselves.
"The principal task of our military is to find and defeat the terrorists," he said. "And that is why we are on the offense. And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down."
More than 160,000 Iraqi security forces are now trained and equipped, Bush said. Some, he said, are capable of operating independently, and others now are experienced enough to plan and execute anti-terrorist operations with coalition support. Some units still are forming, the president said, and the task of training them continues with three new approaches.
"First, we are partnering coalition units with Iraqi units," he explained. "These coalition-Iraqi teams are conducting operations together in the field. These combined operations are giving Iraqis a chance to experience how the most professional armed forces in the world operate in combat."
The second approach has coalition transition teams living, working and fighting together with their Iraqi comrades, Bush said. "Under U.S. command, they're providing battlefield advice and assistance to Iraqi forces during combat operations. Between battles, they are assisting the Iraqis with important skills, such as urban combat and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance techniques."
The third approach involves working with the Iraqi ministries of interior and defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate anti-terrorist operations.
"We're helping them develop command-and-control structures," Bush said. "We're also providing them with civilian and military leadership training, so Iraq's new leaders can effectively manage their forces in the fight against terror."
Some 2,000 Iraqi security forces have died in the line of duty, the president pointed out. "Iraqi forces have fought bravely, helping to capture terrorists and insurgents in Najaf and Samarra, Fallujah and Mosul," he said. "And in the past month, Iraqi forces have led a major anti-terrorist campaign in Baghdad called Operation Lightning, which has led to the capture of hundreds of suspected insurgents. Like free people everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended by their own countrymen. And we are helping Iraqis assume those duties.
"The progress in the past year has been significant," he said, "and we have a clear path forward."
Acknowledging that the mission in Iraq is "difficult and dangerous," Bush said the mission also is clear. "We're hunting down the terrorists. We're helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We're 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."
Bush said that like all Americans, he sees "horrifying" images of the war. "And the suffering is real," he said.
"Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of peace and freedom," the president said. "Our military reports that we have killed or captured hundreds of foreign fighters in Iraq who have come from Saudi Arabia, and Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and others. They are making common cause with criminal elements, Iraqi insurgents and remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime who want to restore the old order."
And the enemy, he said, is brutal.
"We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who exploded car bombs along a busy shopping street in Baghdad, including one outside a mosque," he said. "We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who sent a suicide bomber to a teaching hospital in Mosul. We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who behead civilian hostages and broadcast their atrocities for the world to see."
But "savage acts of violence," Bush noted, have not brought the terrorists any closer to achieving their strategic objectives.
"The terrorists, both foreign and Iraqi, failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty," he said. "They failed to break our coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq's diverse population, and they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large number with the police forces and the army to defend their new democracy."
Bush noted that Libya has abandoned its designs on nuclear and chemical weapons, and that steps toward freedom and democracy are taking place in the Middle East. "Our strategy to defend ourselves and spread freedom is working," he said. "The rise of freedom in this vital region will eliminate the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder, and make our nation safer."
Though much has been accomplished, much remains to be done, Bush said.
"We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve," he said. "We're fighting against men with blind hatred and armed with lethal weapons, who are capable of any atrocity. They wear no uniform. They respect no laws of warfare or morality. They take innocent lives to create chaos for the cameras. They are trying to shake our will in Iraq, just as they tried to shake our will on Sept. 11, 2001.
"They will fail," he continued. "The terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter under threat. And we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins."
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2005/20050628_1894.html
BTTT for the strategy!
Eat that, dims!
Gee,How many times do I have to tell you! ;)
I smell a troll,dc. Mr Caps signed up today and that is his only post.
" And say thanks to that nephew of yours! Bet you're proud of him."
Thank you for your kindness. I love him dearly, sort of the son I never had, held him at age two weeks. Do be sure more and more Iraqi's are standing up and being counted. I am sure you are seeing more quite positive articles being posted.
One thing I know for sure. This POTUS is no actor. He would love to be in a jet flying the skies of Iraq.
Many of us agree with your sentiments and have expressed them here on FR.
As a gentle word of advice, though, when we speak in CAPS, it indicates passion, extreme feeling, etc; however, when we speak in ALL CAPS, it is considered shouting. Didn't know if you knew that, so I'm just passing it on if you didn't.
I will keep your nephew in my prayers! I try to keep in touch with what's really going on through blogs and reports here. I am really glad the President mentioned that website. We're going to try and "adopt" a cause to keep the kids busy this summer doing something important. Wish I could do more.
Could be. His message wasn't that bad but his style needs a makeover.
" I will keep your nephew in my prayers!"
That is very much appreciated. I seem to live with these guys, doing mental patrols with them in some rather precarious situations. During my nephew's first deploy to the pit, I used to dream about killing insurgents along the Euphrates river next to say Fallujah. This war has been a bit on the personal side for me. I am so glad you will visit the web site the president mentioned. Many folks do not realize how much it means to these guys to get a little letter from a child, and teenager, and adult, some small package of goodies, say a box stuff full of something like Pringles, candy, junk food they don't get over there.
They don't ask for much yet do so much for this country.
Perhaps the most important thing that came out of his speech was the pitch for Americans to check out the web site. One can sense he has a love for our men and women in uniform and in spirit is one of them. He is a real CIC.
You take care.
Practice Sarcasm Torpedo ARMED. FIRE!
Err, because they've got the guns? :-)
OK, when they are able stand up and fight this on their own, we leave.
When training groups of people, the trainers know, almost to the day when groups of individuals are ready. You can project recruitment, training, numbers, etc. We do it all the time, in police academy's, our own military, boot camp, and covert training of foreign nationals. We've had a lot of experience in this field going back many years.
Are we not saying when it's projected that the Iraqis will be able to stand on their own due to tipping the enemy off? Someone, it may have been the President that said, "if we tell them when we are leaving, they will just sit back and wait till we exit".
Won't they know when we are leaving when we start to wind operations down and start to pull out far in advance?
No doubt, it more than likely be announced far in advance that we are winding operations. I would think pulling up stakes in an operation like this would take many months, at least. More likely over a year or more.
I may be wrong, but when it comes time to start pulling out, and winding down, I don't think it's going to be a big surprise to anyone. The enemy will know this way in advance, not only through media announcements, but simple observations of American military movements.
Just a thought.
wishful thinking though......sigh!!
BTTT!!!!
Not even the neocons believe Laurie Mylroie. She's a nut. If those links had any validity, then the White House would be screaming it from the top of their lungs all day in order to avoid the mess it's in now. Believe what you what. There's no reason to let reality intrude. Just don't be surprised when things don't work out.
Gee, what "ideology" do they have in common? Ummm....Wahabbi Islam, perhaps?
Nope. That would be wrong.
Libya is no longer on the bad list and Khadaffi is apparently no longer crazy. You need to get out of 1986.
At times, I feel like screaming what you wrote.
Keep SHOUTING. I don't mind.
Excellent post. Thanks for putting all these links in one place. Now if you could get the press to read the facts...
We will leave when the Iraqi's turn to us and say "We're ready. We believe in ourselves. We're not going to get discouraged." When they feel they have the strength, the training and the "ownership" of what they have built for their own future. When that happens, we will shake their hands, thank them for being allies and walk away. They may be physically prepared to fight long before they are mentally prepared. That is what we are waiting for.
President Bush said we aren't going to announce when we are going to leave because they will sit back and wait. They are not waiting for us—they know we could sweep right back in and crush them. They want the Iraqis themselves to be vulnerable, not hardened by the fight and honed by experience. By not announcing our "exit date" we make our intentions clear: We're going to be here until they fight as well as we do.
Just remember, we are just now winding down in Germany and Japan. Why? Because the nature of our enemies have changed and with that our relationship. I don't think this will take as long. But I would suspect we will have similar installations in the ME for years to come. Not as enemies, but as allies.
That would be correct.
Shrek 2
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