Posted on 09/22/2005 12:50:55 PM PDT by Uncle Joe Cannon
Bush: Weak terror response led to 9/11
Sep 22, 2005, 19:00 GMT
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- President Bush said withdrawing from Iraq would be a mistake that would embolden terrorists just as U.S. responses to other attacks led to 9/11 hijackings.
Speaking Thursday at the Pentagon after an update on the war on terror, Bush said a pullback would be seen as weakness and make the United States less safe.
'The terrorists saw our response to the hostage crisis in Iran, the bombings in the Marine barracks in Lebanon, the first World Trade Center attack, the killing of American soldiers in Somalia, the destruction of two U.S. embassies in Africa and the attack on the USS Cole,' Bush said. 'The terrorists concluded that we lacked the courage and character to defend ourselves and so they attacked us.'
It was the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, carried out by al-Qaida operatives, that led Bush to launch the war on terror with an attack on Afghanistan, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had been given sanctuary. Bush links the fighting in Iraq with the war on terror.
The president said the plan is to follow a strategy of making political gains in the affected counties, while training local personnel to assume security operations.
I don't disagree with your assessment, but you folks are giving Dubya waaay too much credit in his supposed "hitting back at Clinton"...Any criticism of Bubba by Bush is "inadvertent."
Otoh, I realize he's made "deliberate decisions" to ignore the Border Invasion, refer to the Minutemen as "vigilantes," and spend like a liberal socialist...BUT oddly enough, he has "deliberately" decided NOT to veto ONE single thing.
As I said, I don't agree 100% with everything this Administration does, but we will have to politely disagree on whether GWB has ever criticized Clinton. Did you not see Bush41's response to Clinton's latest remarks?
Let me answer you thusly...
Liberals would cut the 'Sling-Shot Program,' citing "over-kill" ;-)
The very latest?
Do tell...
I don't believe I made any reference on how his words were "hitting back at Clinton". I merely pointed out that he's consistantly expressed this same point over the years as his rationale for going in and staying the course.
LOL - I was actually hoping for some technical help - for instance, do you know whether it is even feasible to continue flying our current fleets for that long for less money than the JFS will cost? Will UAVs really replace manned fighters within 30 years? I don't even know where to start looking for that info and, given your handle, it seemed like a good idea to start with you.
Here's another example:
"we are denying the terrorists the ideological victories they seek by working for freedom and reform in the broader Middle East. Fighting terror is not just a matter of killing or capturing terrorists. To stop the flow of recruits into terrorist movement, young people in the region must see a real and hopeful alternative -- a society that rewards their talent and turns their energies to constructive purpose. And here the vision of freedom has great advantages. Terrorists incite young men and women to strap bombs on their bodies and dedicate their deaths to the death of others. Free societies inspire young men and women to work, and achieve, and dedicate their lives to the life of their country. And in the long run, I have great faith that the appeal of freedom and life is stronger than the lure of hatred and death.
Freedom's advance in the Middle East will have another very practical effect. The terrorist movement feeds on the appearance of inevitability. It claims to rise on the currents of history, using past America withdrawals from Somalia and Beirut to sustain this myth and to gain new followers. The success of free and stable governments in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere will shatter the myth and discredit the radicals. (Applause.) And as the entire region sees the promise of freedom in its midst, the terrorist ideology will become more and more irrelevant, until that day when it is viewed with contempt or ignored altogether. (Applause.)
For decades, free nations tolerated oppression in the Middle East for the sake of stability. In practice, this approach brought little stability, and much oppression. So I have changed this policy. In the short-term, we will work with every government in the Middle East dedicated to destroying the terrorist networks. In the longer-term, we will expect a higher standard of reform and democracy from our friends in the region. (Applause.) Democracy and reform will make those nations stronger and more stable, and make the world more secure by undermining terrorism at it source. Democratic institutions in the Middle East will not grow overnight; in America, they grew over generations. Yet the nations of the Middle East will find, as we have found, the only path to true progress is the path of freedom and justice and democracy."
June 2, 2004 - President Bush at Air Force Academy Graduation
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040602.html
Thanks, almost verbatim to today's statement. Now I want him to say the same thing again at a WH news conference. His cherry picking to say it at almost obscure venues does not grab headlines or the MSM 6PM news.
"He's starting to sound like the man we voted for again". Yes, he is and I hope President Bush keeps going! It's about time!
"Perhaps you have missed the numerous times (see some examples above) where GWB has basically said the same thing - where do you get your news?"
Boy, are you grumpy. Perhaps you need a laxative and a nice nap.
Sorry bro -- can't help you out.
Freepers gunrunner2 or Tennessee Bob might be able to answer your questions regarding AF equipment.
O.K. - first, here's the transcript from "Meet the Press" where Clinton took off the gloves
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9327333/
Not only do I think GWB responded in kind (albeit politely), but former President Bush directly rebutted Clinton a little more candidly - I will have to go search for those remarks.
Not so much "grumpy" as a stickler for the facts.
Oh, O.K. - I assumed your call sign meant you flew them - I'll be back ; )
About dang time...
Seen it on FOX he was awsome ! he wasn't taking crap from Reporters either !
Yes! This is the post 9/11 Bush talking here, the Bush that's carrying the branches on his ranch! Give me this Bush anytime over the Poppy clone....
wow! sir we think exactly alike.....
I loved it too, was hootin and hollerin!! Way to go President Bush!! He finally SAID IT!! Tis is the man I voted for!!
You are absolutely right! Still, I think this needed to be said. He picked his time to say it.
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