Thursday, September 13, 2007
1st post 9/13
Tonight the President gave an address to the nation, about what other than, The Iraq War. The president's speech was filled with the same rhetoric that everyone has been hearing for years, "Terrorists and extremists who are at war with us around the world are seeking to topple Iraq’s government, dominate the region, and attack us here at home", "A free Iraq will set an example for people across the Middle East", "Now, because of the measure of success we are seeing in Iraq, we can begin seeing troops come home." The familiar fear and hope cards were once again played to their fullest. Well I'm tired of this vicious circle strategy that so far has been employed in the war in Iraq, Iraq is dangerous, so we send in troops, there is some success, but not enough to take out troops because Iraq is still dangerous. The President doesn't know enough about the enemy he is fighting, he generalizes calling anyone he sees as a threat "extremists, terrorists, and Al Qaeda, well right there those are 3 distinct entities covering a wide group of people, "who specifically are we fighting?", "what does success in Iraq mean?", these are questions that the President seems unable to answer. Bush cites the Anbar Province as a sign of the troop surge's success, when really sheiks and local leaders decided they hated Al Qaeda more than they hate the U.S., that can hardly be credited to the additional troops. In his speech the president asks for more time, that by Christmas 5,700 troops may be able to come home and in March we will be given more status updates. But really this is more backwards logic, the troop levels can not be sustained at their current status, too many soldiers are on their 2nd and 3rd tours of duty, they need to go home. But to add insult to injury in the closing of his speech he speaks of one of the soldiers who died in Iraq saying, "They are doing so in a fight that is just, and right, and necessary. And now it falls to us to finish the work they have begun" only he is not included in that "us" he is simply watching from the stands, a faithful fan booing when things go bad and high-fiving his buddies when his team scores. However, the time for watching is over, the time for a new President who knows the enemy and has a plan of attack is now.
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5 comments:
I definitely agree with your point that Bush’s address was redundant and vague. The War in Iraq appears to have the same occurrences: troops enter the war torn nation, the war does not end, and more troops are sent into Iraq. Bush states that freeing Iraq will set an example for the rest of the Middle East, but in actuality, Iraq appears to become increasingly divisive and chaotic as soldiers and the American government attempt to “help”. What kind of example does this set? President Bush manages to avoid answering the questions that need to be answered in order to determine the conclusion of the war. I agree that the time has come for the government to implement a decisive plan, which allows U.S. troops to come home.
Hahahaha, first i'd like to say i love your name for your 'blog spot' --pop lock and blog it-- hahaha loving you.
anyhow, i read your post and i seem to agree. Although there is some progress in 'Iraq' there seems to be just, not enough. I think you and the article makes a valid point when you say "The President doesn't know enough about the enemy he is fighting, he generalizes calling anyone he sees as a threat "extremists, terrorists, and Al Qaeda, well right there those are 3 distinct entities covering a wide group of people, "who specifically are we fighting?", "what does success in Iraq mean?", these are questions that the President seems unable to answer." I hadnt really thought about it like that, before i read this. And now re-examining it i really realize that you're right, and this article. Well, i guess there is nothing really we can do, but comment and have our opinions on the matter, so all i can say is lets support the troops...
haaa.
love youuu<3
clairee
I fully agree with what you are saying. The President has made the same speech for years concerning our troops that have entered Iraq and when they are going to come home. Every speech we hear that more troops will be sent so that we can end the war sooner and the troops can be sent back home. Yet, Bush sent General Patraeus to Iraq to evaluate the situation and report back to him... of course Petraeus agreed with Bush’s previous ideas that sending more troops will help the outcome of the war. I think that it is time for the government to make a new plan in which our soldiers can finish their tours of duty and be sent home to the families and loved ones that they have left behind.
Your last few sentences about Bush cheering on the side lines establish a pretty funny metaphor for his conduct. You know, high-fiving Cheney when news about Anbar first came out, and then being like, "Come on team! You're doing worse than the Rangers!" when all of the journalists say that there really isn't any progress anywhere.
But I wonder if Bush is even on the team at all? If everyone were metaphorically playing baseball, which they metaphorically would since it's the most American sport there is, I think Bush would be more of an oblivious umpire who looks at the field occasionally when America hits a single, and then he says, "We're winning!" without looking at the scoreboard, which would show we're probably losing 2-9 in the bottom of the eighth.
Bush's address gave me no answers as well, Brooke. I find it so interesting that Bush was willing to make the statement that the troops will start coming home in december and continue to do so. I hate it when people make promises if they are at all unsure that they can not deliver. So it will be interesting to see if in fact we see the troops starting to return. For him to make such a statement, he must be pretty confident about the progress we will see in the next few months. And yet, like you said Brooke, he is so completely vague about this progress. This is where there is such inconsistancy: if he is so confident about our positive impact, why is he not more verbal about the details of this success. And if he cannot be so certain about our success at the moment, then why does he promise that we will be pulling out.
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