WASHINGTON, 30 June 2005 — President Bush appealed to the American public Tuesday night to remember “the lessons of Sept. 11” and not lose faith in the Iraq war effort despite constant violence, declaring: “The proper response is not retreat.”
“Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed,” Bush said in a 28-minute speech at Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina. “Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country.”
Surrounding himself with uniformed soldiers and standing before a backdrop emblazoned with American flags, Bush’s speech was timed to mark the first anniversary of the end of the formal occupation of Iraq, and the official transfer of authority to an interim Iraqi government.
Using language that infuriates his opponents who say there is no link between the Iraq war and Al-Qaeda, Bush said the war in Iraq is part of a bigger battle that began with the Sept. 11 attacks, and mentioned the date five times in his speech and referred to it indirectly several more times.
Bush said Iraq has now become such a testing ground for foreign terrorists. “We fight today because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens, so Iraq is where they are making their stand. So we will fight them there, we will fight them across the world, and we will stay in the fight until the fight is won,” Bush said in the only moment when the audience of 750 soldiers and airmen in dress uniform interrupted him with applause.
Bush also acknowledged that terrorists “whose aim is to remake the Middle East in their own grim image of tyranny and oppression, by toppling governments, driving us out of the region and exporting terror,” had taken a toll on allies in the region.
The president then laid out a two-track strategy — political and military — that will take the fledgling Iraqi democracy through the next six months, when the interim government must complete a constitution and Iraqis must ratify the document and elect a new government.
Bush said new steps by the military will prepare Iraqi security forces to take over the anti-insurgency battle (and he spoke of their bravery and their willingness to do so) conducting operations with Iraq units, embedding US transition teams inside Iraqi units and intensive management training inside the Iraqi Defense and Interior ministries. “As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down,” he said.
Bush again refused to set a timetable for withdrawal of US troops, but vowed that US forces would “stay in Iraq as long as we are needed – and not a day longer.” The president also said he would not increase the number of US troops in Iraq.
He ended his speech as to how he undoubtedly hopes his presidency will be remembered: “When the history of this period is written, the liberation of Afghanistan and the liberation of Iraq will be remembered as great turning points in the story of freedom.”
Democratic lawmakers late Tuesday immediately criticized Bush’s speech on Iraq, saying he had again failed to be honest with the American people. Republicans however defended the president’s refusal to change a strategy Bush said has yielded uneven but significant progress.
“The president missed an opportunity tonight for straight talk to the American people,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives.
“The American people understand what is at stake in Iraq and in the Middle East. That is why it is so disappointing that the president failed tonight, as he has failed consistently since the war began, to lay out specifics for success, including performance benchmarks.”
Sen. Ted Kennedy, a frequent critic of the war, said the administration’s policy in Iraq was “adrift.”
Sen. John Kerry, Bush’s Democratic rival in the presidential election, accused the US leader of creating a “third rationale” for going to war. “The first, of course, was weapons of mass destruction. The second was democracy. And now tonight, it’s to combat the hotbed of terrorism,” Kerry told CNN.
But the Republicans reinforced Bush’s themes. “The president is right. We cannot allow the terrorists to shake our resolve,” House Speaker Dennis Hastert said. “If there is any doubt why we are in Iraq, one must only remember the events of Sept. 11, when the terrorists attacked our nation. We took the war to the terrorists, rather than waiting for them to attack again. It was the right thing to do.”
