Bush visits troops at Yongsan

[unhappycamper]

President Bush delivers a motivational speech Wednesday to a gym full of servicemembers at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea.


Bush visits troops at Yongsan
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, August 7, 2008

SEOUL, South Korea — Saying the United States is engaged in an "ideological struggle" to promote freedom, President Bush told troops and their families at U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan on Wednesday that removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision at the time and is still the right decision.

"I know some people in the United States say we’re not at war, that it’s a simple law enforcement matter," Bush said during the first speech of his weeklong Asia tour. "Well, in law enforcement you respond after the crime. Hopefully, the Sept. 11, 2001, lesson will teach us all that it’s important to prevent the crime from happening in the first place, that we have a duty. And that’s why it’s important to use all assets of national power to keep the pressure on the enemy."

Officials estimated 1,500 to 1,600 people attended the standing-room-only speech at Collier Field House. Several hundred more watched a live broadcast of Bush’s 15-minute speech on three movie screens at the South Post movie theater.

Bush, who wore an Army physical training jacket, thanked troops for volunteering to be in the military during wartime. Troops clapped and cheered frequently. Bush’s comments about Iraq and his belief in God and the God-given gift of freedom — two principles he brought to the White House, he said — got the loudest responses.

Bush met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday morning and flew to Thailand after visiting Yongsan. He was scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday in Beijing and meet with Chinese leaders.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56601