Posted on 12/18/2005 4:48:35 PM PST by Wolfstar
PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY As is their custom when in Washington on a weekend, the President and First Lady attended St. Johns Episcopal Church this morning. The President will address the nation this evening from the Oval Office. In the meantime, Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq on the first leg of his Middle Eastern trip.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: From the Vice President's remarks to the troops at Al-Asad Air Base, Al-Asad, Iraq, Sunday, December 18, 2005. (Click here to read the entire transcript.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, I'm not Jessica Simpson. (Laughter.) But I'm glad to be here, and I thank you for that warm welcome; General Johnson, for the kind words. And I want to say good afternoon to all my fellow Americans. I happened to be in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by.It's a privilege to be here, to stand on the ground of the world's newest democracy -- to be with so many men and women who helped make this history. I wanted to pay this visit during the holidays to express appreciation to all of you and to every American serving in this part of the world. With Christmas and Hanukkah arriving next week, I know your thoughts naturally turn to home. And your fellow Americans are thinking of you more than ever. I'm pleased to bring you the good wishes of the entire country, and personal greetings from our Commander-in-Chief, President George W. Bush. (Applause.)
From Marines going into combat and dominating the battle space, to the precision strikes of the Air Force, to the Army brigades holding and operating across wide terrain, to Navy corpsmen risking their lives to help the wounded, and to Seabees all over the country, day and night, preparing runways, fixing water pumps, and doing a hundred other tasks, Americans serving in Iraq have been absolutely superb.
They've made clear, as well, their ultimate ambition: to acquire weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate all Western countries, to cause mass death in the United States. The terrorists' war against America began long before 9/11. And during those years, they were the ones on the offensive. They grew bolder in their belief that if they killed Americans, they could change American policy. In Beiruit in 1983, terrorists killed 241 of our servicemen. Thereafter, the U.S. withdrew from Beiruit. In Mogadishu in 1993, terrorists killed 19 Americans; thereafter, the U.S. withdrew from Somalia. Over time the terrorists concluded that they could strike America without paying a price because they did -- repeatedly: the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993; the murders at the Saudi National Guard training facility in Riyadh in 1995; the attack on Khobar Towers in 1996; the attack on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998; the attack on the USS Cole in 2000.
Ultimately, of course, they attacked the homeland on 9/11 and took the lives of 3,000 people aboard passenger jets, and at the World Trade Center, and at the Pentagon.
Now terrorists are making a stand here in Iraq, trying to force the United States to abandon our friends, and permit the overthrow of this new Middle Eastern democracy. Zarqawi has sworn his allegiance to bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda. And recently we got our hands on a message from bin Laden's deputy, Zawahiri, sent to Zarqawi. The letter makes clear that Iraq is part of a larger plan of imposing Islamic radicalism across the broader Middle East, making Iraq a terrorist haven and a staging ground for attacks against other nations. Zawahiri also expresses the view that America can made to run again. But we're giving him an education. We're in this fight to win. These colors don't run.
Pinging you to the Sunday Dose, which has photos of the Vice President's surprise visit to Iraq, and which can be used as a "safe" live thread for the President's address later.
Yay!
The Vice President greeting members of the 9th Mechanized Infantry Division of the Iraqi Army.
The Vice President addresses U.S. and Iraqi troops at al-Asad Air Base.
U.S. troops pose with the Vice President at the Taji Air Base.
The VP meets with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in Baghdad.
Good evening. Waiting for the speech; can't wait to hear the good news from Iraq and the caterwalling from the left.
"Safe live thread". LOL
I think a few uglies have already shown up on the other one.
Good for the VP for going to Iraq and watching the Iraqi soldiers train. I'm sure Hillary will take credit for the trip. Ack.
...and it is being assured by troops such as this: A soldier places a Santa Claus puppet at the entrance of one of the buildings of the U.S. military base in Kirkuk.
The First Lady looked resplendant in her turquoise jacket with a leopard print blouse underneath.
President Bush leaves St. John's Episcopal Church, after attending a morning church service this morning in Washington.
Hi, Wolfstar! Thanks for posting VP Cheney's speech. Caught a little bit of it on Fox during breaks in football.
Great idea, too, to have this a live thread for the speech tonight by President Bush. I've visited some of the threads on it, and the comments were in quite a range, with the usual suspects doing the usual bashing. Would much prefer to discuss it here.
Yahoo must be feeling a bit of Christmas spirit, because they are reposting some nice photos with straightforward captions. In this one, the First Lady speaks to children during an appearance at a Toys for Tots event in Metairie, Louisiana, December 12, 2005.
Children reach for artificial snowflakes during a Toys for Tots event featuring the First Lady and Santa Claus in Metairie.
I am so glad that he got to go.
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