Posted on 12/19/2005 7:55:57 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - President Bush brushed aside criticism over his decision to spy on suspected terrorists without court warrants Monday and said he will keep it up "for so long as the nation faces the continuing threat of an enemy that wants to kill American citizens."
"As president of the United States and commander in chief I have the constitutional responsibility and the constitutional authority to protect our country," he said at a year-end White House news conference.
When asked why he didn't go throught he appropriate courts to seek legal cover, Bush said the danger posed by terrorism and the speed at which the government must move to prevent attacks required quicker action. Bush also said he had the legal authority to do so without the courts.
"I swore to uphold the laws," Bush said. "Do I have the legal authority to do this? The answer is absolutley."
Bush also called on Congress to renew the anti-terror Patriot Act before it expires at the end of the year. "In a war on terror we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," he said.
The legislation has cleared the House but Senate Democrats have blocked final passage and its prospects are uncertain in the final days of the congressional session.
The televised, on-the-record session in the East Room of the White House is Bush's first full-fledged news conference since October and his ninth of the year.
The question and answer session with reporters comes the morning after Bush's Oval Office speech on Iraq wich received praise from both Democrats and Republicans for acknowledging mistakes and taking responsibility. But critics say he still has not given Americans a realistic plan that will lead to the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
"I know that some of my decisions have led to terrible loss — and not one of those decisions has been taken lightly," Bush declared in a televised speech to the nation Sunday, his first from the Oval Office since announcing the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
Bush spoke to the nation on Sunday evening about the war in Iraq, urging patience and declaring that the United States was winning the battle.
Bush held out the promise that when the Iraqi military gains strength and self-government moves forward, "it should require fewer American troops to accomplish our mission. I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see."
The language was not specific enough for Bush's critics.
"While I appreciate the president's increased candor, too much of the substance remains the same and the American people have still not heard what benchmarks we must meet along the way to know that progress is being made" and when the troops "can begin to come home," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
His House counterpart, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said: "Tonight the president acknowledged more of the mistakes he has made in Iraq, but he still does not get it. Iraq did not present an imminent threat to the security of the United States before he began his war of choice."
Bush said that despite setbacks, "Not only can we win the war in Iraq — we are winning the war in Iraq."
There is a difference, he said, between "honest critics who recognize what is wrong, and defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right."
That drew a rebuttal from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass.
"It's wrong for him to silence his critics by calling them defeatists," said Kennedy. "Every American — including those that thought this war should never have been fought — understands that we have no choice for own security but to win in Iraq."
Bush should acknowledge, "as his own generals do, that the Iraq war has emboldened the terrorists and increased their ranks," Kennedy said.
Critics also said a change in direction is essential.
Iraqis must be told the United States will reconsider its presence unless the new constitution is revised to give the minority Sunni Arab community a stake in running the country, said Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich.
"They've got to share power, they've got to share oil resources," said Levin, senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. There can be a significant withdrawal of U.S. troops only if there are enough capably trained Iraqi soldiers by the end of 2006, he said.
On NBC's "Meet the Press" earlier Sunday, Levin said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has "ducked the question" of whether the United States would tell the Iraqis they need to change their new constitution.
"The amendment process is there and it ought to be used," said Rice, also appearing on NBC.
In his speech, Bush said it is important "for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out ... before our work is done. We would abandon our Iraqi friends and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word."
"The president said we must not pull out of Iraq `before our work is done,'" said Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis. "He needs to understand that our brave servicemen and women won a resounding victory in the initial military operation, and their task is now largely over."
Bush said some look at Iraq and conclude that "the war is lost," but "not even the terrorists believe it. We know from their own communications that they feel a tightening noose — and fear the rise of a democratic Iraq."
Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), R-Va., Armed Services Committee chairman, said Bush's speech "was a high-water mark in his acknowledgment that mistakes have been made and that he has to accept his share of the blame.
"But he remains resolute, as he should, in continuing our help to the Iraqi people so that they can achieve a self-sufficient government and become a truly sovereign nation," Warner added.
Bush's Oval Office address followed a string of weekend attacks by insurgents in Iraq that pierced three days of relative calm. It also topped off an 18-day span in which Bush made five speeches conceding setbacks amid progress in Iraq.
"We have six more months to get this right," Sen. Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record), D-Del., said on MSNBC, but added that "the president has to move."
To abandon Iraq now would be a "serious, serious mistake," said Biden. "If we, in fact, lose in Iraq — that is, if a Shia-style, Iranian-style government is set up — it will be terrible for us for a long time."
Hey I hadn't seen that picture before. What's the story behind it?
Who was the dufus that asked (again) President Bush is he had ever made a mistake?? I wish that reporter would shove it.
“Every American — including those that thought this war should never have been fought — understands that we have no choice for own security but to win in Iraq."
Teddy Kennedy per January 27, 2005:
"There are costs to staying, and costs to leaving. There may well be violence as we disengage militarily from Iraq and Iraq disengages politically from us, but there will be much more violence if we continue our present dangerous and destabilizing course. It will not be easy to extricate ourselves from Iraq, but we must begin."
He was goofing around before something he did on TV. It's priceless!
On the other thread, I think someone noted that it was John Roberts, the dwarf disc jockey from Canada.
Watched portions. The prez dominated. BUSH RULES! He made me proud.
The "take home message" that I get from this article is that President Bush scored some direct hits, and as a result the usual Demo/Commie suspects are squealing like stuck pigs... Pelosi is a riot - does she even have a clue that her statements sound like a cross between a proclamation from the Politburo and a DU post from a lunatic lefty true believer?
I think Bush made it clear he is not the one who needs to0 move.
Great pic!
I have an announcement to make: In this article there are no quotes from John McCain. Merry Christmas, everyone!
Whoever he was, if stupid was a crime, he would be on death row
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