Bush Seeks to Rally U.S. Troops in Iraq

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON - President Bush sought to rally U.S. troops in Iraq ahead of Saturday's vote on new constitution on Thursday, saying the "enemy understands that a free Iraq would be a blow to their vision."
....
"We're never going to back down, we're never going to give in, we'll never accept anything less than total victory," Bush said. "Thank you for all your work. When you get back to the United States, if I'm hanging around, come by and say hello."
....
Bush said that in Iraq, the United States and its allies are facing "an enemy that actually has a philosophy."

"And the philosophy is so opposite of ours. It is the exact opposite of what America stands for. We stand for religious freedom and freedom to speak and women's rights and capacity for people to realize their dreams.
....
"Iraq is a part of the war because the enemy understands that a free Iraq will be a blow to their vision and their strategy of spreading dominance throughout the broader Middle East," he said.

He's insane

[rodeodance]

1. so will this rally trickle down to the US people.??

[Missy M]

2. bush forgot to add that their philosophy is the exact opposite of what..

America ONCE stood for but no longer does.

[grytpype]

8. Sure it's the exact opposite... just substitute Jesus for Allah

and you get the Christofascist Manifesto.

[flordehinojos]

3. why doesn't he rally them in person in iraq?

cowardly bastard!

[LibDemAlways]

4. "When you get back to the United States...."

Shouldn't that be "If you get back to the United States...."

For those coming home in boxes, if your family is pissed, please tell them not to bother looking me up. They'd be wasting their time.

[Parche]

5. Iraq

If he is hangin around?? What by the gallows????

They just have to go to Crawford Texas, he is there 2 out of every
3days....

[LatinoSocialist]

10. yeah really...

isn't that like a Freudian slip...like he's letting the world know he knows he might not be "hanging around".

Whereyagoing, georgie?

[cliss]

12. You noticed that too?

I couldn't help but smile when I read that. "If I'm hanging around".

Meaning = IF I'm still here by the time you get out of Iraq.

It could mean he knows he's finished.

OR: these poor troops will be there for maybe 5 more years.

[trogdor]

6. religious freedom. right.

The freedom to be a religious nutcase, not the right to not have religious nutcases in your face.

[mallard]

9. Re: "... a blow to their vision ....

".... and their strategy of spreading dominance throughout the broader Middle East."

Right problem, wrong source.

[daleo]

7. Rallying them from 10,000 miles away.

I guess it is so bad in Iraq now that he can't even risk a turkey run to the Baghdad airport.

[lebkuchen]

15. "It's so bad" is the morale.

That's why the long-distance rally.

[daleo]

19. True, this way he doesn't see them in person.

I guess the soldiers' responses can be screened this way. But it does look pretty pathetic for Bush.

[lebkuchen]

22. This chaplain letter to Stripes may interest you.

He's written a couple of times, both letters indicating that morale in the field is low (a search of the writer's name will probably turn up the other letter, telling us that the US is becoming like "old Rome"--fat and lazy).

*********************************

Remembering Army values

Recent anti-Bush, anti-war editorials have prompted me to revisit my Army values. Here are my thoughts:

Loyalty: I am proud of my president. He is my commander and I will stand by him.

Duty: I will take pride in my profession as a soldier. I will not allow public opinion, mounting casualty reports or dissenting family and friends to deter me.

Respect: I will cherish the rights of the free press. Whether I agree or disagree, therein lies my right to speak and be heard.
Selfless service: My country is worth dying for. And so it is also worth living for.

Honor: I will remember that a cowardly life is a life half-lived, that character and reputation are the best promotion and highest reward.

Integrity: I must always aspire to be better than I am, constantly narrowing the gap between belief and action.

Personal courage: By God’s grace, I will never forget that without moral and physical courage, I cannot live out the other Army values.

While others may wring their hands in doubt and despair, we as soldiers cannot. They can sit in the stands as spectators “row upon row.” We do not have that luxury as we must enter the arena and “face the bull” every day. Army values help us to do that in some very practical ways.

Chaplain (Maj.) Don Zapsic
Camp Liberty, Iraq

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=31760

[hadrons]

11. "....if I'm hanging around, come by and say hello."

there are shitheads who still believe this jackass???

[Bravo411]

27. Maybe he means that he

might not be here any more. Instead he'll be hiding out in some South American country while the world looks for him to put him on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

[antonialee839]

13. With the rest of the evil empire worrying about impending

indictments, it was left up to Jenna to write Monkey's speech.
"If I'm hanging around", for Christ's sakes!!!!

[Synnical]

14. Video is available - it's bizarre

Just bizarre. Even in this very "carefully choreographed" exchange Shrub can't speak properly or make sense.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

[barb162]

17. yes! it weirded me out

[barb162]

16. I watched that this morning. It was so staged, so weird....

and another performance by Bush with the troops

[leftchick]

18. Photos!.. This reminds me of a movie...

Was it "Being There"? I am not sure if I am recalling the name correctly. This is fucking bizarro....

[daleo]

21. Reminiscent of talking to astronauts on the space station.

Or the moon. I guess that's what this has come to for Bush.

[kskiska]

25. It was kind of like Edward R. Murrow's "Person to Person"

where he sat in a darkened room, smoking, while celebrities on a big screen gave him tours of their homes, only this was weirder.

[pfitz59]

20. 11 hand-picked soldiers is a rally?

cloud cuckoo land for sure.....

[hiabrill]

24. yeah right...!!

"When you get back to the United States, if I'm hanging around, come by and say hello."

But if you get killed don't expect me to attend your funeral..! I never go to those...!

fuckface...!

[chat_noir]

23. vote it down

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051013/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_iraq

[IndianaGreen]

26. "We stand for religious freedom ..."

Tell that to the Wiccan priestess that was told she could not open city council meetings with a prayer, while her "Judeo-Christian" colleagues could.

Belief in Jesus is the only religious freedom America promotes.