Monday, June 07, 2004
Bush Speaks
Bush being interviewed by Tom Brokaw at Normandy on 6/6/04:
Bush: “It's not easy work to take a country from tyranny to a free society. And we'd been there a little over a year. And it's-- you might recall if you're looking for parallels in World War II, it took about four years to get an active reconstruction effort going.
Wow when this guy started this war under what have now proven to be false pretenses, he said it was going to be a cake walk and that the reconstruction would be paid for by Iraqi oil. He said we would be greeted as liberators. He told us that the mission was accomplished over a year ago in his fetching flight suit. Now its World War II. Damn.
This part is very revealing:
Brokaw: “If you're a member of the American public, and you're looking at what's going on in Iraq with Americans being killed almost every day by this continuing insurgency, and no weapons of mass destruction have been found, and George Tenet, the director of the CIA, has quit in the middle of this war, and Ahkmed Chalabi, who was a principal source of information to the United States now has been removed, and he is under investigation, would you as an ordinary citizen out there in America say, ‘Man, I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it at all?’”
Bush: “If I didn't see a positive end, I would be thinking that. Whereas if all I thought was happening is-- was that there was, you know, civil war -- perhaps civil war … And I would be saying, you know, what's going on here? On the other hand, the American people are beginning to see that there is a positive end.
“And the end is a free Iraq. And the American people have got to understand that part of winning the war on terror is to encourage the habits of liberty in parts of the world that need the habits of liberty. I mean, winning the war on terror requires more than just doing in al-Qaida, which we are actively doing, by the way. We're searching and finding.
“But it also means installing governments that don't necessarily look like America. They won't look like America, but that our government that has embraced the habits of freedom in places like Afghanistan and in Iraq, which will in turn, strengthen places like Pakistan and Turkey.”
“These are vital missions, Tom. Because they're-- these are the countries that represent the beginnings of massive change in the greater Middle East. Now, I agree. Some won't think that's possible. I do. But had we taken that tack, by the way, that's, you know, a country can't be a democratic country after World War II, it's very conceivable that Japan would not have been our close ally today. Other words, there were some cynics and pessimists that said well, Japan can't possibly be a free society because of the nature of the people.
"Fortunately, some of our forefathers refused to buy into that. And now, Japan is one of our strongest allies in keeping the peace. I think 60 years from now, people are going to look back and say, "Thank goodness America stood the line and worked for democracy in Iraq, which served as a catalyst for change in the greater Middle East, which is now a more peaceful place than it would've been.’
“The other ambition of the terrorist is to drive us out of the greater Middle East so that they can have not only safe haven, but perhaps controlled government that have got past the energy resources and/or weapons, which would be a grave danger to America. And it's why it's important that we complete this mission, and I'm confident we will.”
In this last paragraph Bush is saying, in very broken English, that the reason why "its important" to stay in Iraq is because of oil (i.e. energy resources).
His whole answer can be summed up as follows:
It's important for the US to install friendly governments in order to prevent our country's life blood, oil, from being under the control of anyone that we do not trust.
The "don't necessarily look like America" part means that they may be dictatorships but they will be dictatorships installed by us.
This is not about democracy, "installing governments" in a foreign country is not democracy!
Bush being interviewed by Tom Brokaw at Normandy on 6/6/04:
Bush: “It's not easy work to take a country from tyranny to a free society. And we'd been there a little over a year. And it's-- you might recall if you're looking for parallels in World War II, it took about four years to get an active reconstruction effort going.
Wow when this guy started this war under what have now proven to be false pretenses, he said it was going to be a cake walk and that the reconstruction would be paid for by Iraqi oil. He said we would be greeted as liberators. He told us that the mission was accomplished over a year ago in his fetching flight suit. Now its World War II. Damn.
This part is very revealing:
Brokaw: “If you're a member of the American public, and you're looking at what's going on in Iraq with Americans being killed almost every day by this continuing insurgency, and no weapons of mass destruction have been found, and George Tenet, the director of the CIA, has quit in the middle of this war, and Ahkmed Chalabi, who was a principal source of information to the United States now has been removed, and he is under investigation, would you as an ordinary citizen out there in America say, ‘Man, I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it at all?’”
Bush: “If I didn't see a positive end, I would be thinking that. Whereas if all I thought was happening is-- was that there was, you know, civil war -- perhaps civil war … And I would be saying, you know, what's going on here? On the other hand, the American people are beginning to see that there is a positive end.
“And the end is a free Iraq. And the American people have got to understand that part of winning the war on terror is to encourage the habits of liberty in parts of the world that need the habits of liberty. I mean, winning the war on terror requires more than just doing in al-Qaida, which we are actively doing, by the way. We're searching and finding.
“But it also means installing governments that don't necessarily look like America. They won't look like America, but that our government that has embraced the habits of freedom in places like Afghanistan and in Iraq, which will in turn, strengthen places like Pakistan and Turkey.”
“These are vital missions, Tom. Because they're-- these are the countries that represent the beginnings of massive change in the greater Middle East. Now, I agree. Some won't think that's possible. I do. But had we taken that tack, by the way, that's, you know, a country can't be a democratic country after World War II, it's very conceivable that Japan would not have been our close ally today. Other words, there were some cynics and pessimists that said well, Japan can't possibly be a free society because of the nature of the people.
"Fortunately, some of our forefathers refused to buy into that. And now, Japan is one of our strongest allies in keeping the peace. I think 60 years from now, people are going to look back and say, "Thank goodness America stood the line and worked for democracy in Iraq, which served as a catalyst for change in the greater Middle East, which is now a more peaceful place than it would've been.’
“The other ambition of the terrorist is to drive us out of the greater Middle East so that they can have not only safe haven, but perhaps controlled government that have got past the energy resources and/or weapons, which would be a grave danger to America. And it's why it's important that we complete this mission, and I'm confident we will.”
In this last paragraph Bush is saying, in very broken English, that the reason why "its important" to stay in Iraq is because of oil (i.e. energy resources).
His whole answer can be summed up as follows:
It's important for the US to install friendly governments in order to prevent our country's life blood, oil, from being under the control of anyone that we do not trust.
The "don't necessarily look like America" part means that they may be dictatorships but they will be dictatorships installed by us.
This is not about democracy, "installing governments" in a foreign country is not democracy!
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