Posted on 12/05/2005 12:09:23 PM PST by oxcart
And I am pleased to be here to discuss America’s ongoing mission in Iraq -- and the importance of it succeeding.
The other day, I came across an interesting set of statistics that I’d like to mention. It seems that the Pew Research Center asked leaders in the United States their views of the prospects for a stable democracy in Iraq.
Here were some of the results:
63% of the people in the news media thought the enterprise would fail; So did 71% of the people in the foreign affairs establishment; and 71% in the academic settings or think tanks. Interestingly, opinion leaders from the U.S. military are more optimistic about Iraq by a margin of about 64 percent to 32 percent favorable. And so is the American public, by a margin of 56 percent to 37 percent.
And the Iraqi people are optimistic. I’ve seen this demonstrated repeatedly -- in public opinion polls, in the turnout at the elections, the referendum on the constitution, in the number of tips that the Iraqi people are providing to the Iraqi Security Forces and to the Coalition forces. They’ve grown from 483 a month to 4,700 tips per month.
This prompts the question: which view of Iraq is more accurate? The pessimistic view of the so-called elites in our country -- or the more optimistic view expressed by millions of Iraqis and by the some 155,000 U.S. troops on the ground?
(Excerpt) Read more at defenselink.mil ...
The video is at the Pentagon Channel:
http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/
http://www.poe-news.com/features.php?feat=31845
Rumsfeld-fu!
I believe what it boils down to is the 'view' that the liberal media shoves down our throats and the view of the military men and women who are our there personally overseeing and shedding blood for democracy for an opressed people.
Super-duper speech....I just love Rummy!
Rumsfeld Rocks ~ Bump!
So, what is John Kerry's response to this speech?
Well, as you know, John Kerry was in Vietnam, and based on that experience, he can verify that Iraq is just like Viet Nam . . . . except it has a different kind of enemy, different tactics on both sides, different weapons systems on both sides, a different climate, different terrain, different opportunities and consequences, a different strategic objective, and a different origin.
I watched Rummy today and he just smacked the media and the left, right in the mouth. Rummy is a National treasure.
Thank you for posting this article. It was a pleasure to read this man's words and then listen to those words being spoken. It is a well thought out, flawlessly delivered, timely speech by a great American.
Indeed. A true American patriot is DR.
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