U.S. President George W. Bush speaks to troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on a stop enroute to Asia November 14, 2005. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Posted on 11/14/2005 7:14:35 PM PST by NormsRevenge
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday sought to counter Democratic critics of the Iraq war by turning their own past words of warning about Saddam Hussein against them.
"Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war -- but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people," Bush said in a campaign-style speech accusing Democrats of playing politics with the issue and trying to rewrite the past.
He spoke to U.S. troops in an air base hangar in Alaska, a refueling spot for Air Force One carrying him on a week-long Asia trip that Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said would be long on conversations about top priorities but not likely to include any breakthrough agreements on simmering trade issues.
Democrats have been hounding a politically weakened Bush with allegations that he, Vice President Dick Cheney and other senior officials manipulated intelligence in order to hype the threat posed by Saddam to justify the war.
Bush, struggling to rebuild Americans' support for the Iraq war amid rising U.S. casualties, criticized Democrats on the intelligence manipulation charge for a second time, reflecting sensitivity on the issue as he tries to battle back from the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency.
He quoted statements made in 2001 and 2002 by three Senate Democrats, though he did not quote them by name.
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons," Bush quoted West Virginia Democratic Sen. John Rockefeller (news, bio, voting record) as saying in an October 2002 speech.
Rockefeller, who now serves as the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was among the 29 Democrats who voted for the war in a key 2002 Senate vote.
SADDAM 'MISLED THE WORLD'
Bush cited as well cite a statement by Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, in a December 2001 television interview, as saying, "The war against terrorism will not be finished as long as (Saddam) is in power." Levin voted against the war.
Bush also quoted Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who also voted for the war, as saying in September 2002: "Saddam Hussein, in effect, has thumbed his nose at the world community. And I think that the president's approaching this in the right fashion."
"They spoke the truth then, and they're speaking politics now," Bush said to applause, adding that it was Saddam who manipulated evidence and misled the world.
Bush said the Democratic criticism sends "mixed signals to our troops and the enemy. And that's irresponsible."
Democrats responded on Monday by vehemently denying that they saw the same intelligence before the war as Bush, and that there was a consensus in the intelligence community on that information.
They accused the administration of trying to convince the American people there was a link between Saddam and al Qaeda even though the intelligence community rejected that idea.
Bush was on his way to Kyoto, Japan, first stop on a tour that includes visits to South Korea, China and Mongolia.
Hadley, briefing reporters on Air Force One, played down the possibility of any breakthroughs on trade disputes with Japan and China.
On U.S. attempts to persuade Tokyo to lift a ban on U.S. beef imposed over mad cow fears, Hadley said: "This is not going to get worked out before we get there, it's not going to get worked out while we're there. But we hope in a reasonable time afterwards to see this issue worked through and beef returned to the Japanese market."
As for China's swelling trade surplus with the United States, a source of increasing frustration among U.S. lawmakers and exporters, Hadley also tried to minimize prospects of a breakthrough.
Bush wants China to liberalize China's currency system and let the yuan rise in value. "It's going to be an issue during this trip. It's going to be an issue after this trip," Hadley said.
(Additional reporting by Adam Entous)
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks to troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on a stop enroute to Asia November 14, 2005. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Turn it right back on 'em, W!
The truth is that investigations of intelligence on Iraq have concluded that only one person manipulated evidence and misled the world -- and that person was Saddam Hussein. In early 2004, when weapons inspector David Kay testified that he had not found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he also testified that, "Iraq was in clear material violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441. They maintained programs and activities, and they certainly had the intentions at a point to resume their programs. So there was a lot they wanted to hide because it showed what they were doing that was illegal."
Eight months later, weapons inspector Charles Duelfer issued a report that found, "Saddam Hussein so dominated the Iraqi regime that its strategic intent was his alone. He wanted to end sanctions while preserving the capability to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction when the sanctions were lifted."
Some of our elected leaders have opposed this war all along. I disagreed with them, but I respect their willingness to take a consistent stand. Yet some Democrats who voted to authorize the use of force are now rewriting the past. They are playing politics with this issue and they are sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy. And that's irresponsible.
As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them into war continue to stand behind them. (Applause.) Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough. (Applause.) And our troops deserve to know that whatever our differences in Washington, our will is strong, our nation is united, and we will settle for nothing less than victory. (Applause.)
Thanks to our men and women in uniform, the Iraqi and Afghan people are building democracies, and as they do so, they inspire people across the broader Middle East. And freedom's advance has only just begun. In our lifetime, we've seen the power of freedom to conquer evil, and take root in previously unfamiliar soil. Freedom is the mightiest force of history -- because the desire for liberty is embedded in the soul of every man, woman, and child on the face of this earth. (Applause.) If we are steadfast, if we do our duty, this young century will be freedom's century -- and we will have done our duty by laying the foundation of peace for generations to come. (Applause.)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051114-3.html
AMEN!!!FIGHT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!
Will this finally silence the RATS? (I doubt it...)
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks to troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, on a stop enroute to Asia November 14, 2005. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Bye Harry. Bye Ted.
Good, but not enough. Time to call these bastards traitors
1
Yep, kick their traitorous asses W!!
I see the liberals at reuters are inventing news again:
"Democrats have been hounding a politically weakened Bush"
"Bush, struggling to rebuild Americans' support for the Iraq war amid rising U.S. casualties"
Bout time GW...
Well .. the President is not going to do that.
It's time for the REAL MEN in Congress to get off their blessed assurance and take on the dems.
OK. So, either you were in gross dereliction of your job then or you're currently lying. Which do you feel better admitting to?
Smells like treason...call him on it!!
It's time for the REAL MEN in Congress
I'm trying to count some real men in Congress.
I'm sitting crosslegged, so I can"t count my toes. I'm petting my dog with one hand, so that hand doesn't count. I'm picking my nose with my other hand so I have no fingers left.
Man, I just can't come up with a REAL MAN in Congress!
Has the President's speech from Elmendorf AFB been posted in full as a separate thread? It should be.
Another blatant lie. The 911 whitewash er.. I mean commission found links going back a decade, just no obvious connection to 911. You have to be a mental contortionist to believe that the regime that harbored the bombers from the 1st WTC bombing had nothing to do with the second.
President Bush speaks to military personnel and their families at Elmendorf Air Force in Anchorage, Alaska Monday Nov. 14, 2005 during a stop over on the initial leg of an eight-day journey to Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
"Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war, but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people. Leaders in my administration and members of the United States Congress from both political parties looked at the same intelligence on Iraq, and reached the same conclusion: Saddam Hussein was a threat.
"Let me give you some quotes from three senior Democrat leaders: First, and I quote, "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons." Another senior Democrat leader said, "The war against terrorism will not be finished as long as Saddam Hussein is in power." Here's another quote from a senior Democrat leader: "Saddam Hussein, in effect, has thumbed his nose at the world community. And I think the President is approaching this in the right fashion."
"They spoke the truth then, and they're speaking politics now. (Applause.)
Democrats are despicable
IF there are any REAL men left in Congress..it may be the only real man left in DC is George W...
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