Bush Opens Iraq Offensive

Says Pulling U.S. Troops Out Now Would Be 'Absolutely Disastrous'

(CBS/AP)  President Bush insisted Thursday that the conflict in Iraq was central to the war on terrorism and forcefully rejected the calls of those who want the U.S. to start pulling out now, reports CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

"Many of these folks are sincere and they're patriotic, but they could not be more wrong," Mr. Bush told an audience of thousands of veterans at the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City.

The consequences of pulling out before the mission in Iraq is completed, Mr. Bush said, "would be absolutely predictable and absolutely disastrous. We would be handing Iraq over to our worst enemies – Saddam's former henchmen, armed groups with ties to Iran, and al Qaeda terrorists from all over the world who would suddenly have a base of operations far more valuable than Afghanistan under the Taliban."

In the first of a series of speeches in defense of staying the course in Iraq, Mr. Bush said the U.S. will not leave until victory is achieved.

"The war we fight today is more than a military conflict," Mr. Bush said. "It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century."

Mr. Bush chose a friendly audience in a conservative state to begin a pre-election series of speeches touting his war strategy. The three-week campaign is centered on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The president described the current violence in the Middle East and the recently thwarted attack to blow up planes over the Atlantic Ocean as part of the same movement that resulted in the Sept. 11 attacks. He likened the struggle against Islamic fundamentalism with the fight against Nazis and communists.

"As veterans you have seen this kind of enemy before," Mr. Bush said. "They are successors to fascists, to Nazis, to communists and other totalitarians of the 20th century. And history shows what the outcome will be.

"This war will be difficult. This war will be long. And this war will end in the defeat of the terrorists," Mr. Bush said.

Mr. Bush acknowledged the unsettling times, marked by sectarian violence in Iraq, disputes along the Israel-Lebanon border and terrorists allegedly plotting to blow up planes between Britain and the United States.

"The images that come back from the front lines are striking and sometimes unsettling," he said. "When you see innocent civilians ripped apart by suicide bombs or families buried inside their homes, the world can seem engulfed in purposeless violence."

Mr. Bush said those who were responsible for bringing down the World Trade Center are united with car bombers in Baghdad, Hezbollah militants who shoot rockets into Israel and terrorists who wanted to bring down the flights between Britain and the United States.

"Despite their differences these groups form the outline of a single movement, a worldwide network of radicals that use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology," Mr. Bush said. "And the unifying feature of this movement, the link that spans sectarian divisions and local grievances, is the rigid conviction that free societies are a threat to their twisted view of Islam."

Mr. Bush also delivered his starkest threat yet to Iran its defiance and delay to demands to stop enriching uranium.

"There must be consequences for Iran's defiance,'' he said, "and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon."

Thursday was the deadline for Tehran to heed the U.N. Security Council demand to stop enrichment.

"The world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime in Iran,'' the president said. ``We know the depth of suffering that Iran's sponsorship of terrorists has brought. And we can imagine how much worse it would be if Iran were allowed to acquire nuclear weapons."

It is the third time in less than a year that Mr. Bush has made a series of speeches on Iraq and terrorism. The speeches come two months before congressional elections and at a time when his when many Americans are disillusioned with his strategy.

Mr. Bush insisted, however, that the speeches were not politically motivated.

"They are not political speeches," Mr. Bush said Wednesday in Little Rock, Ark., where he made a campaign stop with Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman who is running for governor against Democrat Mike Beebe.

"They're speeches about the future of this country and they're speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, this nation will become even more in jeopardy."

But even in Utah – which gave Mr. Bush a wider margin of victory than any other state in the 2004 election – the president's appearance was a source of dispute. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, a Democrat, led thousands of anti-Bush demonstrators on a march through the city Wednesday. He called Mr. Bush a "dishonest, warmongering, human-rights-violating president."

The White House countered by organizing a campaign-like rally at the airport for Mr. Bush's arrival Wednesday night. A couple thousand cheering supporters, who got tickets from the governor's office and the congressional delegation, stood under flood lights and cheered as Mr. Bush pledged to stay in Iraq.

While in Salt Lake City, Mr. Bush had a half-hour private meeting with leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also spoke at a luncheon fundraiser for Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch.

[senorslick1]

Americans know what Bush/Cheney regime represent, numbers are teling, hence 34 percent approval rating.
That may very well be the lowest approval of a US presidency in modern history.

[clestes-2009]

TonyV

Haven't you figured out that Bush buys whatever he needs to get out of trouble.

His dad bought him out of the National Guard when he was on the point of failing out.

I sure someone was paid to get him through school for his MBA.

And once again, someone is taking the fall, so the whole Plame case can be diverted from becoming the embarressment and possible impeachment excuse it really is.

Why do you think it is coming now? Because before now Bush and Co didn't really think they might lose both Houses of Congress. Now, there is a real possibility of that happening and if it does, he doesn't want to face impeachment charges over his lying about Plame.

This man has zero honesty, and zero integrity, and enough money to buy his way out of trouble. He has done it over and over his whole life.

[j-whitman]

TonyV -- as a matter of fact,, yes,,, go to Trading With The Enemy, it's in our own governments official records. But then of course, you would simply deny it.
Truman's own VP said, "When you have a co-aliton of the religious right & corporations, we have Fascism in America"
Every bit of the White House rehtoric for the past 6 years has been totally fascist. Surprising? Not to me.

[gwagener]

Why are the President, other politicians the media, and the public ignoring the biggest reason the US is staying in Iraq? The US has not given Iraq the means to defend itself from invasion by a hostile power (Iran, Syria, and others). The air power, tanks, artillery, and training have not been provided. The reason is obvious. The administration fears that these means would be used in secular violence and if Iraq were stable with the means to defend itself it would also have the means to threaten its neighbors.

[nynative1340]

Hmmmm...the article is no longer available in the Salt Lake Tribune on-line. But it is in the Deseret News, including parts of Anderson's speech. Two SLC TV stations (5/NBC & 2/CBS) have toned down their coverage and not included any part of his speech.

I'm hard pressed to find coverage in any of the main-line news groups, not just CBS or CNN.

So much for independent news coverage; they are looking out for their own backsides, much like our politicians.

[lgseiferth]

If you want to read about the protest led by Rocky Anderson, the Salt Lake Tribune has a good article, as does KUTV (television) in Salt Lake City. CBS news and CNN online are not covering it because they are afraid of losing access to the Bush administration in the White House Press Corps. If you Google the Salt Lake Tribune or KUTV, you can read the story. It's awesome!

[nynative1340]

I leave you with this quote:

"When a candidate for public office faces the voters he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is
the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental - men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost... All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre - the man who can most
adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is
perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious
day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956) in the Baltimore Sun (26 July 1920)

[nynative1340]

You are right on, J-Whitman. Glad to see that at least a few people know something about the Bush family history.

On the other hand, people like carnold should keep reading. Terrorists acts started long before the WTC in '93. Remember the terrorist attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut that killed nearly 250 of our finest? Remember what Reagan did? Absolutely nothing.

As for the stomach for war, I served in our military for over 28 years. How long did you serve? Besides, the MAIN terrorist is in Afganistan, not in Iraq. We're no longer looking for him.

[tonyv76]

Why isn't anyone apologizing for dragging Bush's name (and Rove's for that matter) through the gutter for Valerie Plame when we finally have proof he had nothing to do with it?

[tonyv76]

And of course, J-Whitman has proof of this.

Hey all you "intellectual" Bush haters. Why is it you can say anything you want without any CREDIBLE substantiation or proof whatsoever. Examples:

"Bush KNEW there were no WMD's in Iraq and duped the entire world (including Interpol, the KGB, and our good friends the French) that Saddam had them."

"Bush blew up the levees in New Orleans."

"Bush knowingly let Osama Bin Laden escape"

"Bush Assassinated JFK."

[lgseiferth]

Where is CBS news' coverage of the large anti-war, anti-Bush demonstration that ocurred during the president's visit in Salt Lake City? The mayor, Rocky Anderson, had some very powerful rebukes for the Bush administration. CBS news seems afraid to upset the Bushies to the point that they will not report responsibly. That is a shame. I suggest people look at other websites to get the whole story.

[j-whitman]

As usual, Bush trys to re-write history in own mind. He neglects to tell Americh how his own Grandfather & many republicans actually supported Hitler & had no objections to proclaiming that Hitler should rule America. Bush's Neo-Con Facism is no different & definatly no better.
Wouldn't it be nice for him to admit that he's lying about terrorism & it's root?

[carnold0630]

How is Bush opening the Iraq offensive? It's Iran that is opening up an offensive here. It's terrorists that are the offenders here. Those that can't stomach war against such offenders should leave the country. It doesn't end with appeasement and/or cut&run and/or letting the Middle East solve their own problems. They'll keep picking a fight with us from here on out. It started with the WTC '93 bombing, continued with the Cole (among other smaller instances) and then to 9/11. They're not done attacking us yet and those that think we can just pull out and use sanctions or sit down at a table with murderous liars are fools.

[nynative1340]

One could also liken the war in Iraq to other wars where we didn't have a clue about the sheer determination of our enemies--Korea and Vietnam. We lost both of those, along with over 100,000 of our finest young men and women.

We started our Arab problems in 1953 when we overthrew a struggling new democracy in Iran and installed a tyrant and a terrorist--the Shaw. But it was ok because he was our friend and we gave him lots of weapons.

We destabilized the entire area by overthrowing Saddam. But that's ok because Saddam was bad and he wasn't our friend anymore. It doesn't matter that we armed him and gave him lots of weapons.

When will we ever learn from our mistakes in foreign policies? Especially with a president who has no clue what foreign policy means. In fact, he has no clue, period.

[clestes-2009]

So he did add a little something different to the same old line. Now our enemies have become the new "Nazi's and Fascists". Wrong again gw.

My memory of WWII says that Hitler, time and again, made up flimsy excuses to invade countries he wanted to loot of people, land, and natural resources. You made up flimsy excuses to invade Iraq and tried to pick a fight with Iran, so you have an excuse to invade them and loot their natural resources. Iraq did nothing to harm or attack us, but YOU invaded them anyway.

I think you and your cronies are the Hitlers here.

But you are right about one thing, the countries invaded by Hitler eventually fought back and kicked Hitler out. Iraq is doing the same thing. And they will evenually succeed in kicking the US out.

You might continue to fool your loyal following that you are in the right here, but most American know the truth. You insult Winston Churchill by placing yourself in the same category as him. You belong with Hitler.

[bfroggy-2009]

"...the rhetoric has framed the problems of terrorism and conflict clouds the real issues and sets a course for militaristic confrontation. I firmly believe that this is a wrong policy that must be challenged. Language has become so divisive that all options for peace have become the shameful side of binary arguments loosely themed around %u2018victory or retreat%u2019. To begin the peace process, common sense should tell us that we must break out of this mental box and consider that our opponents have grievances which can be addressed through reasonable policy. I recognize that there are fanatic extremists with which there can be no compromise, but if reasonable alternatives were sought then it would embolden the moderates and hedge extremism on all sides."

More on www.bfroggy.com

[liberalkelly]

this whole train of speeches is just bush's way of preparing us for more war and, demonstrably, more cost to us. he wants to go to Iran and kill some more innocent people by policing the whole world. it is not our duty to tell other countries what they can and can not do. our only responsibility is to our own safety and he cannot honestly say anymore that we are fighting any kind of winning battle. our poor soldiers have been made, yet again, to fight for a lie. these lies have to stop and so does the tyranny of bush. how dare he liken the iranians to the nazis when it is we who are oppressing the masses routinely and without mercy. kill some more, why don't you? this is so shameful, to turn our great nation into nothing more than a bully.

[aesop2-2009]

What kind of country do we live in where the so called leader is out attempting to drum up support for a war. This is not a football game, people are dying for nothing. Do we no longer value human life. Send *** Cheney as his cronies to war if they like. I for one do not want any of my love ones dying for this ingnorance.

[tvgypsy]

Preview of the Shrub's text:

Mah fellow 'Mericans, I stand before you a man convicted by those who don't believe in the 'Merican ideals, that we faht for what is right, that we're makin' the world safe for democracy and that's with a capital "D" which stands for Dallas...whoops, wrong song.

Ah admit we began this incursion with insufficient intelligence, mainly mine, and Ah humbly regret that, mah lack of intelligence, that is. Daddy Shrub thought it would be easy and we could justify the invasion to y'all by tellin' yuh Saddam and his Ayrabs had these big weapons and you believed us. Dicky-boy and Mister Dumbsfeld were lookin' at the big pitcher with Dicky countin' all the bucks his guys at Halliburton was gonna make, and Ronald Dumbsfeld wanted to test out his new guns and things that the Pentagon had on order from his buddies in the defense industry.

Well, it hasn't quite worked out lahk we planned and now we got this big mess on our hands.

Gimme a break. Ah screwed up and y'all gonna pay for it.

[ya_mahdi]

Excerpt from a sermon where Ali Ibn Abi Talib described the 4 different sorts of people in the world

''Then there is he who has drawn his sword, openly commits mischief, has collected his horsemen and foot-men and has devoted himself to securing wealth, leading troops, rising on the pulpit and has allowed his faith to perish. How bad is the transaction that you allow (enjoyment of) this world to be a price for yourself as an alternative for what there is with God for you''

Can you identify this vivid description with a certain politician? And how he runs his office.