Decision ‘08

Comments on the President’s Speech

The President gave a very strong speech, in my view. I almost nailed it a few days ago:

I look for the following: more of Bush’s newfound willingness to admit that things haven’t gone as well as we had hoped in some areas, and that mistakes have been made with pre-war intelligence, coupled with a reminder of the historic nature of the recently concluded elections, a strong emphasis on the need to avoid artificial timetables and let events on the ground determine how many troops withdraw and when, and, less likely but still possible, an announcement that 20-30,000 troops are withdrawing almost immediately, with or without the context that we had beefed up our presence pre-election by about 30,000…

That last point was off the mark…Bush did not take the easy road of trumpeting the already planned withdrawal of the troops that beefed up election security, and I think that is to his credit.

The rest, however, was not only present, but was very well presented (and, since it is so often said that English is apparently Bush’s second language, it should be noted that the delivery was strong tonight, too). Bush was particularly strong on the intelligence failures and the necessity of action regardless:

From this office, nearly three years ago, I announced the start of military operations in Iraq. Our Coalition confronted a regime that defied United Nations Security Council Resolutions — violated a cease-fire agreement — sponsored terrorism — and possessed, we believed, weapons of mass destruction. After the swift fall of Baghdad, we found mass graves filled by a dictator — we found some capacity to restart programs to produce weapons of mass destruction — but we did not find those weapons.

It is true that Saddam Hussein had a history of pursuing and using weapons of mass destruction. It is true that he systematically concealed those programs, and blocked the work of UN weapons inspectors. It is true that many nations believed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. But much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. And as your President, I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq.

Yet it was right to remove Saddam Hussein from power. He was given an ultimatum — and he made his choice for war. And the result of that war was to rid the world of a murderous dictator who menaced his people, invaded his neighbors, and declared America to be his enemy. Saddam Hussein, captured and jailed, is still the same raging tyrant — only now without a throne. His power to harm a single man, woman, or child is gone forever. And the world is better for it.

The President affirmed that there will be no timetable other than the one dictated by events on the ground:

We are approaching a New Year, and there are certain things all Americans can expect to see. We will see more sacrifice, from our military, their families, and the Iraqi people. We will see a concerted effort to improve Iraqi police forces and fight corruption. We will see the Iraqi military gaining strength and confidence, and the democratic process moving forward.

As these achievements come, it should require fewer American troops to accomplish our mission. I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and the advice of our military leaders — not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington. Our forces in Iraq are on the road to victory — and that is the road that will take them home.

Finally, he reached out to opponents:

I also want to speak to those of you who did not support my decision to send troops to Iraq: I have heard your disagreement, and I know how deeply it is felt. Yet now there are only two options before our country — victory or defeat. And the need for victory is larger than any president or political party, because the security of our people is in the balance. I do not expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom.

Now, we know that that appeal will fall on deaf ears among the blowhard lefty bloggers, most of the MSM, and the partisan hacks, but let’s remember, those people don’t speak for the American heartland any more than I do. Will this speech persuade all, or even most, of those who oppose the war? No, it will not, but it will persuade some, and that’s enough, for now…

It was the right speech, with the right tone, at the right time…

5 Responses to “Comments on the President’s Speech”

1 ryanVOX Says:
December 18th, 2005 at 9:50 pm
Smack!

The rhetorical equivalent of “get out of my way, and let me do my job.” Don’t be surprised if you see a troop reduction by SOTW!

…
2 Fargus Says:
December 19th, 2005 at 8:43 am
Personally, I saw, in the admission of “mistakes,” an unwillingness to take accountability, still. Sure, in his words, he said “I take responsibility for sending the country to war.” He said that some of the intelligence was wrong. But he implied a sort of supernatural prescience on the part of himself and his Administration, in being able to make “the right decision” despite all of the misinformation he and his were given.
3 Mark Says:
December 19th, 2005 at 9:16 am
I disagree; he laid out several reasons other than WMD stockpiles that justified the invasion; most crucially, Saddam’s refusal to abide by the UN resolutions…
4 Clint Says:
December 19th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Interesting. I would have said most crucially his blatant and repeated refusal to abide by the terms of the cease fire agreement that ended the first Gulf War.
5 Mark Says:
December 19th, 2005 at 1:27 pm
Clint, that’s even better - but that just shows there were many, many reasons besides the WMD stockpiles…