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.
Here he goes snugs!!!
President Bush should address the nation more often, he's doing great!
Definitely prayers for President Bush, and the men and women of the US and coalition forces, and the Iraquis!
This is a great leader
OUT OF THE BALLPARK AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!
The war IS NOT controversial - idiots are making it such.
YES!
I only have one word for the President and his speech tonight. Magnificent.
Perfect word!!! Yes!!!
I wish I could give him a hug and tell him that some of us really do understand how important victory is, that some of us support him and his decision.
With apologies for being somewhat crude, eff 60 Minutes!
You can say that again, Best Oval Office speech yet
President Bush should have be doing this every few months!!!
I know just what you mean ilovew...I was in front of the WH Friday and Saturday and my heart just ached for him!
I agree, this man is a visionary and he knows where the future of this nation shoulf head
He should definitely have been doing this all along, don't understand why he hasn't.
EXCELLENT SPEECH!
Now off to check the live thread and see what's going on there.
Squarebarb, he was magnificent. Calm yet forceful. He spoke from the heart and had a message so clear even the dimmest among us could understand. He even surprised me by being a bit more direct against the naysayers than I expected. The WH should have both a transcript and an audio, maybe even a video link up tomorrow. If you can, check their website for it.
Yeah, that's what the talking heads are saying. Nothing he EVER does is enough, or just right or at the right time.....
Indeed, Mike. Indeed. I am not easily given to tears anymore in my life, but he had me very close to tears toward the end of his speech. I don't want to hear a single word from the Left side of the aisle tonight, so I turned the TV off.
My sentiments exactly.
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