HOME RUN COMMENT!!! ... Bush puts away the nonsense that Iraq and GWOT are not linked ...
"The case of one terrorist shows what is at stake. The terrorist leader we face in Iraq today, the one responsible for beheading American hostages, the one responsible for many of the car bombings and attacks against Iraq is a man named Zarqawi. Before September the 11th, Zarqawi ran a camp in Afghanistan that trained terrorists in the use of explosives and poisons, until coalition forces destroyed that camp. (Applause.) He fled to Saddam Hussein's Iraq, where he received medical care and set up operations with some 2,000 terrorist associates. He operated in Baghdad and worked with associates in northern Iraq. He ran camps to train terrorists, and conducted chemical and biological experiments, until coalition forces arrived and ended those operations. (Applause.) With nowhere to operate openly, Zarqawi has gone underground and is making a stand in Iraq.
Here, the difference between my opponent and me is very clear. Senator Kerry believes that fighting Zarqawi and other terrorists in Iraq is a "diversion" from the war on terror. I believe that fighting and defeating these killers in Iraq is a central commitment in the war on terror. (Applause.)
If Zarqawi and his associates were not busy fighting American forces in Iraq, does Senator Kerry think they would be leading productive and peaceful lives? (Laughter.) Clearly, these killers would be plotting and acting to murder innocent civilians in free nations, including our own. By facing these terrorists far away, our military is making the United States of America more secure. (Applause.) "
Did he do this in the debates? Did he say these things then about how this terrorist, if we were not fighting him in Iraq, would not be running a peaceful farm somewhere??
This is good stuff but I don't remember Bush saying these things during the debates?
Do we have the transscripts of the debates somewhere to be found?
Todays speech was fabulous and plainly aligns the war in Iraq as simply an address in the war on Terror. The administration has never made its point on this as clearly. Better late than never. The tone of it reminded me of good ol' Zell's speech.
Bush seemed to be in a big hurry to finish. Other than that it was great.