President Bush is scheduled to address us this evening from Fort Bragg, NC. With the military backdrop and soldiers surrounding him, I can hardly wait to hear what he has to say.
I'm opening this thread to discuss what he is expected to say, and afterwards, what he actually said.
Since we have a few hours until the pundits start telling us what to think and expect, we can talk about this while we wait...
Quote:In 1999, George W. Bush criticized President Clinton for not setting a timetable for exiting Kosovo, and yet he refuses to apply the same standard to his war.
George W. Bush, 4/9/99:
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
And on the specific need for a timetable, here's what Bush said then and what he says now:
George W. Bush, 6/5/99
"I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."
[note: article originally ran in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on 6/5/99]
VERSUS
George W. Bush, 6/24/05:
"It doesn't make any sense to have a timetable. You know, if you give a timetable, you're ?- you're conceding too much to the enemy."
As posted by Brian: In Bush's "autobiography," Karen Hughes writes of Bush's senior year at Yale:
"My inclination was to support the [United States] government and the [Vietnam] war until proven wrong, and that only came later, as I realized we could not explain the mission, had no exit strategy, and did not seem to be fighting to win."
Well, there are three things he can give us, tonight. An explanation of the mission that's more than "spreading freedom" and "staying on the offense." Those are platitudes, not a mission statement. Explain how our continued presence in Iraq is directly, concretely, specifically in our national interest. Exit strategy? First, confirm that we are, indeed, exiting. Then explain how, specifically, we are going to build up an Iraqi army to leave behind, what it will look like, and how it will be armed. Will there be an Iraqi Air Force? Coast Guard? Who's gonna pay for all this and how long will it take, period? As for fighting to win, I noted three and one-half years ago that no one in this Administration was defining "victory." If it was "disarming Saddam" we'd done it before the war, and now we've confirmed it and it's time for the tickertape parades. If it's something more than that, well, let's get specific.
Source
Think we'll get any of the above questions answered tonight?
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