Posted on 03/21/2003 11:56:05 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Bush Heads to Camp David With Cabinet
By RON FOURNIER .c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's first weekend at war was to be spent at his Camp David mountaintop retreat, where he was gathering his Cabinet after declaring Friday that U.S. troops were making progress in Iraq.
Hours before the beginning of the aerial assault on Baghdad, Bush met with congressional leaders in the Oval Office.
He told them, ``We will stay on task until we've achieved our objective, which is rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and free the Iraqi people so they can live in a society that is hopeful, democratic and at peace with its neighbors.''
Before the meeting, Bush was told that a U.S. Marine had been killed in Iraq, the first reported American combat death of the war to disarm Saddam Hussein.
Bush, commander in chief of 250,000 U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, did not mention the Marine's death in his brief public remarks.
``All of us involved here in Washington are extremely proud of the skill and bravery of our young Americans who are willing to sacrifice for something greater than themselves,'' he said.
The president thanked Democratic and Republican lawmakers for their support of U.S. troops.
And then, he was off to Camp David.
Several foreign policy aides, including National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, planned to join Bush on Saturday. The Marine-run facility 60 miles from the White House is equipped with advanced communications allowing the president to keep tabs on the war and other world events.
The White House said he was following a precedent set by his father, who led the nation in the first Persian Gulf War. The elder Bush spent the first weekend of that conflict away from the White House, official said.
Friday was the second straight day that Bush had summoned reporters and photographers into a White House meeting. In both cases, he refused to take questions about the status of the war.
Referring reporters to the Pentagon, the president said, ``We are making progress.''
Besides the war, Bush and the lawmakers discussed the federal budget. On Thursday, the House passed a $2.2 trillion measure that endorses his plan to cut taxes by $726 billion over the coming decade.
On Friday, however, the Senate voted to take $100 billion over the next 10 years from Bush's proposed new tax cuts to pay for the war with Iraq. ``We cannot blithely go along as if this were a time for business as usual,'' said Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
Bush is the 12th chief executive to use the woodsy compound in western Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. When his father was president, the 143-acre camp was practically a second family home where George and Barbara Bush, their children and grandchildren spent much time.
The Navy, which built the place for Franklin D. Roosevelt during the depression, called it Camp Three. Roosevelt changed that to the more fanciful Shangri-La. Dwight D. Eisenhower changed it anew to the simpler Camp David, a nod to his 5-year-old grandson and his father, Davids both.
Why? We're in the middle of a war and will be in Bagdad on Monday. Shouldn't he stay in the White House?
The 3rd ID doesn't get the weekend off nor should the Commander in Chief.
The Marine-run facility 60 miles from the White House is equipped with advanced communications allowing the president to keep tabs on the war and other world events.
It's a little tougher to monitor the comings and goings at Camp David.
Yes, I am serious. No I'm not from RAT land.
I just got a little upset watching him get on the helicopter and fly away. Why not stay in the White House for the weekend.
Just my opinion.
President Hoover had built a Presidential retreat at his own expense in what is now part of the Shenendoah National Park. Hoover gave the retreat to the government after he lost to Redvelt. Redvelt visited the retreat for an hour or two never to return. Then proceeded with the government funded construction of Camp 3.
So, do you think he's taking the weekend off?
The administration needs to clear it's mind and figure out what to do about the Turkish problem.
Almost every thing we do in Saddam's Iraq will be for naught if we can't figure out how to stop the Turk's in northern Iraq.
The key is to watch 3rd Armor. If they bypass Baghdad and Terkit and head for Mosul or the northern boarder then the jig is up and the race is on for Kurdistan.
Before the meeting, Bush was told that a U.S. Marine had been killed in Iraq, the first reported American combat death of the war to disarm Saddam Hussein.Bush, commander in chief of 250,000 U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, did not mention the Marine's death in his brief public remarks.
I strongly suspect that that Marine's parents won't refuse to shake Bush's hand as the parents of those killed in Somilia did to Slick.
AP is garbage.
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