Posted on 09/05/2006 5:54:09 PM PDT by Alouette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush vowed on Tuesday to prevent al Qaeda from setting up a violent, radical Islamic empire based in Iraq, which he said was Osama bin Laden's ultimate goal. "We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us -- and we need to take their words seriously," Bush said in a speech liberally laced with quotes from bin Laden, architect of the September 11 attacks five years ago which killed around 3,000 people.
As he sought to bolster support ahead of November elections, Bush also released a White House national strategy for combating terrorism that said Americans are safer five years after the attacks but "we are not yet safe."
Delaware Democratic Sen. Joe Biden said release of the new report showed that even the White House now acknowledged its previous strategy had failed.
"The president has squandered the opportunity to unite the country and the world, instead he has divided both," he said.
White House officials denied Bush's speech and the report were driven by election politics. Recently, the president has returned to one of his time-tested themes, accusing Democrats of being soft on terrorism as he tries to help Republicans retain control of the U.S. Congress.
Addressing the Military Officers Association of America, Bush said Islamic radicals would like to obtain nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in order to "blackmail the free world and spread their ideologies of hate."
"If we retreat from Iraq, if we don't uphold our duty to support those who are desirous to live in liberty 50 years from now, history will look back on our time with unforgiving clarity and demand to know why we did not act," Bush said.
"I'm not going to allow this to happen and no future American president can allow it either," he said.
Bush quoted extensively from bin Laden's videotaped messages and writings, comparing him to 20th century dictators like Russia's Vladimir Lenin and Germany's Adolf Hitler.
BIN LADEN LETTER
He cited in particular a letter from bin Laden to the former Taliban ruler, Mullah Omar, that coalition forces found in Afghanistan in 2002.
Bin Laden wrote that al Qaeda should launch a media campaign to tell Americans "their government would bring them more losses, in finances and in casualties," and that they are being sacrificed for big investors, "especially the Jews."
Bush said al Qaeda's vision was to create a "unified totalitarian Islamic state that can confront and eventually destroy the free world."
Bin Laden has declared Iraq "the capital of the caliphate," said Bush, who has often faced criticism for trying to tie Iraq into the broader "war on terrorism."
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, the losing presidential candidate in 2004, responded that if Bush had killed bin Laden in late 2001, "he wouldn't have to quote this barbarian's words today."
"Afghanistan is slipping back into chaos, Pakistan is one coup away from becoming a radical Islamic state with nuclear weapons, Iran is closer to a nuclear arsenal, and Iraq has become a recruitment poster for terror," Kerry said.
Bush also repeated his contention that Iran was the world's most active state sponsor of international terrorism and must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
He said the international community had made a "reasonable offer" to Iran to give up its nuclear program.
"We will continue to work closely with our allies to find a diplomatic solution, the world's free nation will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon," Bush said. (Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Caren Bohan)
"All we had to do when we defeated Saddam was to ban Shari'a Law. Period. That is exactly what MacArthur would have done, in addition to executing folks like Al Sadr after a brief military hearing. But no, we had to send Paul "Pussy" Bremer in and be "sensitive". We had to give our troops ridiculous rules of engagement. Knock before you kick the door in. Are these soldiers or Avon ladies? I continue to bemoan the wussy era we live in, the lack of fury and hatred against our enemies and a determination to massacre them."
"I was at the WTC seeing folks jumping out of the towers and hearing the awful noise when they hit. When I got home, what did I see on my TV? Nothing. Not what I witnessed. Not the horrible gory truth. Just sanitized bullshit so the people don't get "too angry" lest they firebomb a mosque. Then within a few days Bush goes and takes his shoes off in a D.C. mosque to proclaim the "religion of peace". Can you imagine FDR doing the same in a Shinto temple days after Pearl Harbor? And he was a liberal icon! We have become a nation which tolerates wimps as leaders, and we seem to have totally lost the righteous bloodlust which great empires must have to long survive."
After reading that post, and I do remembered, still in shock after what happened on that truly black Tuesday, I was not able to sleep at all that night. You must have had that experence after seeing so many people jump to their deaths. God Bless you for the courage to tell your story of that horrific day.
What gets me is that we have leaders who are still clueless after 5 years. At least the everyday people "get it".
I eat bad food and eliminate smarter objects than biden...so let's not devalue excrement, either.
A.A.C.
ROTFLM*O {you started it!}
I'll handle the pliers, and I will not charge a dime!
LLS
I just saw United 93.
I have never cried so hard in my life.
We must never forget and we must fight back, NOW!
But we won't mention Slick Willie's feckless inaction when we had the opportunity to put a bullet in OBL's brain.
Also, this is an indirect criticism of our fine military by the Vietnam vet who shot a kid in the back and threw his service medals at the White House (later retrieving them of course).
Salem, I couldn't have said it better about Montag's post than you. We should have reacted as a nation to 9/11 the way our nation did after 12/7/41.
Joe Biden gives low-down common gutter trash a bad name.
Survey says! We have a winner !!!
Brilliant post !!!
You are a great American. Mold your sadness into useful energy. Cry, and rememeber, the more you cry, the happier the enemies of America love it you are sad.
Shed tears and let them burn your face, let them remind you of the evil we face.You are not alone, you are with people that love America, and will cry but at the same time take care of business. G-d bless you and yours always.
Jeff
Oh thank you Jeff!
The same to you and yours....
""The president has squandered the opportunity to unite the country and the world, instead he has divided both,"
Whereas Joe and his fifth column have missed NO opportunity
to create dissention, disillusionment, and doubt about the
leadership of our nation, IN A TIME OF WAR!
Oh to see the rightous arm of justice shake some sense into
these liberals.
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