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Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It

By Jeralyn, Section War In Iraq
Posted on Tue Jun 28, 2005 at 03:26:14 PM EST
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Bush says in his speech:

"Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said, according to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House. "It is worth it."

Who is he kidding? This war was not worth a single life or one single survivor's lifetime of grieving - for their lost loved ones or lost limbs.

This war has not done one iota to make us safer. Nor will it.

Think Progress has the full text of the speech (prepared remarks) and is live-blogging.

Update: Rep. Charlie Rangel writes today on the Huffington Post that the war is going to get much worse.

Update: America Blog notes:

ABC's Terry Moran just reported that the only time Bush got applause was in the middle of his speech when a White House advance team member started clapping all on their own in order to cajole the soldiers into clapping, which they dutifully did.

And Protein Wisdom (who praises the speech, I'd avoid his "pros" but adds this humorous ending)

Cons:

* Failed to criticize Aruban prosecutors for their dismal failure in bring closure to Natalee’s family
* Completely ignored the shark EPIDEMIC currently plaguing Florida’s Gulf coast
* No Geraldo; very little Greta

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    Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It | 35 comments (35 topical)
    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    A preview of President Bush's speech on Iraq has been released. For those keeping score at home, here are the Five Things Bush Should But Won't Do Tonight: 1. Tell the Truth About the Path to War and the Occupation 2. Provide An Honest Assessment of the Current Situation in Iraq 3. Define "Victory" and States Whether or Not It Is Still Possible 4. Offer a Plan for Success and Ask the Nation for Sacrifices 5. Send a Clear Message to the World About American Intentions For the full Bush speech scorecard, see: "A Guide to the Bush Iraq Speech"

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Bush lied to get people to support the war and has continued to wink and nod (Cheney too) over the issues of the Iraq War's connection to 9/11 ...sort of all terrorists look alike to them. The stunning thing to me is not the 57% who know he lied but the rest who agree with him. They are the people who want a cowboy in office. They want someone who will do whatever to win.(get their own way) Collateral damage is just another fact of life to Bushco and it's march to the sea. They have a series of unconnected goals to accomplish and they have used the religious right as a distraction and fighting terrorism to keep the public in line. I hope to live long enough to see a few other presidents but I can state right now -Bush is the worst president ever.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#3)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    This from a man, or some poor excuse for one, that probably still can't think of a single thing he's done wrong with this "war". A spoiled child is what he is. And the suffering increases because of it. Such a disgrace.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Jeralyn asks who is Bush kidding? Well, slightly more than 1/3 of America, according to the polls.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#5)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Tristero, "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." - Phineas T. Barnum Apparently 1/3 is the amount of all of the time.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#6)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Bush has checkmated himself. He can't admit defeat and stay in Iraq (how does that work: We lost, but we're staying?), and yet of course his little imperial campaign in the Middle East is in a complete shambles. So he figures at this point he can try to shore up support from his traditional "base", and stumble through the rest of his presidency hoping there won't be a Vietnam-like helicopter scene in Baghdad, at least not before he hands over to the next president - and good luck to him. Or her. Meanwhile Rumsfeld "disassembles", Cheney continues on the path to becoming the undisputed champion of bare-faced lying of all time, and Condoleeza ... Condoleeza comes up with phrases like this to describe what's happening in Iraq: Freedom is on the march. I kid you not.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#7)
    by roy on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Only two surprises in the speech: 1: He made vague references to terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Meaningless, but probably an attempt to disarm certain conspiracy theories. 2: He said Iraq is building a society based (partly) on freedom of religion. Do the Iraqis know that? I assumed they were going to allow the freedom to be whatever kind of Muslim you want, but not much else.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#8)
    by TomStewart on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Again, he's pulling up 9/11! He's still trying to make people believe that Iraq had something to do with the attacks on America! I predict his approval ratings either stay flat, or nosedive even more.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#9)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    How braindead do you have to be to listen to this guy and not notice HE'S SAID THE SAME THING EVERY TIME HE'S BEEN ON CAMERA FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS!?

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    The President made repeated reference to something that Blaghdaddy thinks everyone has Sorely Missed... Why isn't having plopped America's War on Terror in Iraqis' living rooms not grounds for immediate impeachment for "Crimes Against Humanity?"

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#11)
    by john horse on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Roy, Speaking of the Iraqi views on freedom of religion, Abdul Al-Hakim, the leader of United Iraqi Alliance, recently visited Iran. Hakim is quoted as saying that "Iran enjoys cultural and religious privileges that other states are deprived of." Meanwhile, since the occupation, persecution of Iraqi Christians has erupted. This includes the firebombing of churches, the destruction of businesses, and the killing and/or kidnapping of Iraqi Christians. The number of Iraqi Christians has declined from 1.4 million to 800,000. Ironically, there was relatively little persecution of Iraqi Christians when Saddam was in power. Based on this and some other evidence, I would argue that there is less freedom of religion in Iraq today. Bush lies so often, that a good rule of thumb is to believe the opposite of everything he says.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#12)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:39 PM EST
    Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said... "It is worth it."
    Yeah, it's always worth it when you can gain from it while somebody else's kids are dying in it.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#13)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:40 PM EST
    Another new reason for invading Iraq. "Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists." Yeah, only problem with that bit of news is, they weren't there before we occupied a sovereign nation!

    Here's a good one, "thank the men and women defending our freedom by flying the flag...". Oh, right, that's going to do them some good.

    HEY! What about Poland? He forgot about Poland!

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:40 PM EST
    Yeah, it's always worth it when you can gain from it while somebody else's kids are dying in it. Bush is a huge believer in the class system. So by his lights, the lives of 'most all of our soldiers just aren't worth that much.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#15)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    shorter bush: The suffering is worth it as long as it's not me or mine. Yo, Jenna, time to join up. It's not like you're teaching underprivelged kids or anything (like you said you would do during the campaign): "Jenna's interested in a public school in Harlem, but she deferred a decision until after the campaign. Visiting a summer reading program for second-graders in Alabama in July, Jenna helped her mother read to the children and talked with them about her plan to become a fourth-grade teacher."

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#16)
    by ras on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    This war has not done one iota to make us safer. Nor will it. And yet, no major terrorist attacks in the US since 9-11, in spite of HomeLand Security's rather pedestrian efforts. Perhaps it's just a coincidence. Or perhaps terrorism is not the freelance enterprise it's made out to be. Maybe it's just state-sponsored war-by-proxy, philosophical privateers so to speak, and the presence of US troops on the border of pretty much every terrorist sponsoring state in the ME is making a difference. Funny how that happened, that Bush just happened to invade the two countries that would make it so. Almost as if it's part of a very successful plan to prevent further 9-11's.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    Ras.
    And yet, no major terrorist attacks in the US since 9-11, in spite of HomeLand Security's rather pedestrian efforts. Perhaps it's just a coincidence.
    Yep, pretty much. You may have missed the Madrid Bombing in 2004 ? So much for the success of the 'War on Terror'. Invading Iraq didn't stop that one. Of course that probably doesn't count for you guys since no Americans were killed, even although it was directly precipitated by Spain being dragged into your half assed war (which they sensibly abandoned PDQ). I think the 'Terrorist Community' suffered just as much 'Shock and Awe' as the rest of the world on 9/11. If they ever get out of the mentality of trying to figure ways to match or surpass New York and Washington and wake up to the potential for sustained low level action the country is wide open. As for George Junior all it will take now is a 'Tet Offensive' in Iraq and his ass will be well and truly in a sling. It's Vietnam all over again (and anyone who says different wasn't there, believe me).

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#18)
    by Lis Riba on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    "Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said, according to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House. "It is worth it."
    That would be much more believable if Bush had ever stirred himself to go to one single funeral...

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#19)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    Yeah...the "suffering" is worth it. Isn't it best to leave that question up to the people who are actually suffering? The worst thing Bush ever suffered was a severe hangover. A complete and utter fraud he is.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#20)
    by ppjakajim on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    Delta writes:
    Of course that probably doesn't count for you guys since no Americans were killed, even although it was directly precipitated by Spain being dragged into your half assed war (which they sensibly abandoned PDQ).
    If you listen you don't hear, and if you hear you don't understand. The whole strategy of protecting the US is to bring the moslem world into the 21st century by establishing democracies across the ME. That will do a couple of things. First it will remove governmental tolerancem, and in some cases support, for the various groups within these countries. Secondly it will improve the living conditions of the populace, thus removing the real source of recruits by these terror groups. Give a 17 year old some food, jeans and MTV and he isn't going to be interested in blowing himself up. Let him get some better looks at (gasp!) female charms, and he darn sure isn't going to want to run off to jihad. We see improvement in Lebannon, Egypt, Palestine, Libya, SA and Iraq. There are still major problems, especially in Iran, but no one said it would be easy to change a culture. So continue to complain. But at least understand what you are complain about.

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#21)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    Since I had my dog spayed, there has not been a single terrorist attack in N. America. Spay and nueter your pet if you dont hate America!

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#22)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    Roger, I don't think thaty will work, but I'll try it..

    Re: Bush to Nation: The Suffering is Worth It (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:00:41 PM EST
    PPJ excretes the following,
    The whole strategy of protecting the US is to bring the moslem world into the 21st century by establishing democracies across the ME
    The ME is currently in the first quarter of the 15th century AH. Democracy should be a choice made by the population not imposed at gunpoint.
    governmental tolerancem ?
    Not familiar with that term, try typing at the speed you think (i.e. slowly and simply).
    improve the living conditions of the populace
    I guess you might get some lively debate on that from the population if Iraq !
    Give a 17 year old some food, jeans and MTV and he isn't going to be interested in blowing himself up.
    Perhaps that's why recruitment in this country is screwed ? As usual you project your cultural values and aspirations onto a culture you have no understanding of.
    Let him get some better looks at (gasp!) female charms, and he darn sure isn't going to want to run off to jihad.
    Unless of course those charms are lying charred by napalm in a Fallujah street.
    There are still major problems, especially in Iran
    What problems ? By whose yardstick ?
    So continue to complain. But at least understand what you are complain about.
    I suspect I have a better understanding of the AO and people than your average BushLicker. Perhaps you should try educating yourself (if that’s possible, get a grownup to help you wi