Bush's Gettysburg

[gilliam]

From a small town in Pennsylvania, the president came to finally answer critics of an increasingly unpopular war, a war that Democrats hoped would sweep them into office in the next election.But enough about Lincoln at Gettysburg 142 Novembers ago; let me analyze George Walker Bush’s speech today in Tobyhanna, Pa.Much attention is being given to his blasting the revisionist history of Democrats who supported the war to get by the 2002 election and now cluck their tongues. Who cares?
WMD were not what this war was – or is – about. The president:

“If the peoples of that region are permitted to choose their own destiny, and advance by their own energy and participation of free men and women, then the extremists will be marginalized, and the flow of violent radicalism to the rest of the world will slow and eventually end. By standing for hope and freedom of others, we make our own freedom more secure.”​

That is it. That in a nutshell is how America will be free: By making sure that all men enjoy the rights to which they were endowed by their Creator.

Read the Rest

 

[cathologos]

What if the Iraqis freely choose an Islamist regime which institutes Shari’a as the basis of Iraqi law? What if the Islamist regime works with the Saudis to cover Iraq with madrassah schools? Are we going to be OK with that? What if the Iraqis, two years out, elect a president who publicly calls for the destruction of Israel? Is that OK? What if the Iraqi government chooses to give major contracts to French firms, and cuts Halliburton out cold?

Bush’s pitch sounds like Manifest Destiny. To the peoples of the Middle East, it’s probably going to sound an awful lot like unvarnished imperialism.

 

[gilliam]

On the net:

C-span has the speech

some photos here:
whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/11/20051111-1.html

FOX NEWS SAYS HE HITS BACK HARD, VIDEO HERE
RED NOVA VIDEO HERE
LOCAL PENNSYLVANIA WFMZ NEWS VIDEO HERE (This is good!)

After weeks and months of media induced martyrdom, President Bush finally attacked the Democrats for their dishonest attempts to rewrite history!

Right Wing News has a copy of the speech.
Protein Wisdom has highlights.
Glenn Reynolds says Bush needs to go on offense in a big way.
Michelle Malkin says the clear catalyst for action was the essay, “Who is lying About Iraq?” by Norman Podhoretz earlier in the week.
Alexander K. McClure at Polipundit says it was excellent. ( I am sure they will have much more to say so I will link to the whole website.)
So much for the Democrat Attack and Smear Machine (via Texas Rainmaker).
Pundit Guy points out three important paragraghs.
Cold Fury has a classic line by John Kerry from today.
Blogs for Bush… there is not the slightest truth in the anti-war criticism.
WILLisms says “finally!”

 

[Digitonomy]

cathologos:

What if the Iraqis freely choose an Islamist regime which institutes Shari’a as the basis of Iraqi law? What if the Islamist regime works with the Saudis to cover Iraq with madrassah schools?

While your overall point is well-taken, this specific hypothetical is absurd. Majority Shia Iraq is not going to blanket the country with Saudi funded Wahabbist Sunni madrassahs.

 

[ProudArmyWife]

Thank you for the links. I missed the speech today!

May the Lord continue to look over our military men and women!

 

[Della]

cathologos:

What if the Iraqis freely choose an Islamist regime which institutes Shari’a as the basis of Iraqi law? What if the Islamist regime works with the Saudis to cover Iraq with madrassah schools? Are we going to be OK with that? What if the Iraqis, two years out, elect a president who publicly calls for the destruction of Israel? Is that OK? What if the Iraqi government chooses to give major contracts to French firms, and cuts Halliburton out cold?

Bush’s pitch sounds like Manifest Destiny. To the peoples of the Middle East, it’s probably going to sound an awful lot like unvarnished imperialism.

The point isn’t a laundry list of “what ifs” but the fact that at least the Iraqi people will have the freedom to direct their future–all the Iraqi people, not just the Sunnis who have run the country into the ground. I highly doubt that people who have had to pay so high a price for their freedom are going to simply hand it over to another dictator.

Why don’t we let them vote for their legislature before pronouncing yet another round of doom and gloom on these people who so far have stood up to terrorism on their own soil, had the guts to approve a constitution, are putting their former dictator on trial, and are not going to be intimidated away from the voting booths in the upcoming elections. Ummmm?