NYT: Bush, Speaking to Veterans, Says Iraq May Not Be Last Strike

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/politics/26CND-BUSH.html?hp

President Bush defended his policy on Iraq today, declaring that the United States had struck a blow against terrorism in overthrowing the government of Saddam Hussein. And Mr. Bush said the United States might carry out other pre-emptive strikes.

``No nation can be neutral in the struggle between civilization and chaos,'' Mr. Bush told members of the American Legion gathered in St. Louis for the group's convention.

``We've adopted a new strategy for a new kind of war,'' Mr. Bush said, to loud applause. ``We will not wait for known enemies to strike us again. We will strike them in their camps or caves or wherever they hide, before they hit more of our cities and kill more of our citizens.''

``We will do everything in our power to deny terrorists weapons of mass destruction before they can commit murder on an unimaginable scale,'' Mr. Bush said. ``The security of this nation, and our friends, requires decisive action, and with a broad coalition, we're taking that action around the globe. We are on the offensive against terror, and we will stay on the offensive against terror.''

[bemildred]

1. We may step on our own dick while doing it,

but by G_d we will not flinch!

[Hobarticus]

2. It's bluster...

It has to be. He'd over-extend the military if he tried another invasion, because they won't send more troops to finish the cans of worms they've already opened. Either that or he'd sink his re-election chances for sure, no one would stand for this bullshit.

[arcane1]

6. bluster is all he has left

[Hobarticus]

9. Zactly...but someone else does the bleeding for it!

[ixion]

3. what a sack of cr*p

everytime this lying whistle ass opens his mouth I get hives.
Seriously.

[hang a left]

4. Man this guy scares the crap out of me

When my husband gets home from work, we are going to start on our underground bunker. GOT CANNED FOOD?

[mike6640]

5. there is going to be a shortage

of quickrete(sp?) wheelbarrows and shovels at my local home depot.

[Wwagsthedog]

13. Don't Forget...

... your duct tape and plastic sheeting. How can the American people put up with this crap from the worst president in history?

[Wednesdays]

7. Oh, goody.

Not only have we set precedent regarding pre-emptive strikes, it is now SOP. :(

[SilasSoule]

32. How to win friends and influence people

[Hobarticus]

8. How well received was this?

You have to wonder: these are vets, and despite the common perception that these guys are gung-ho about war, I've talked to many vets who are anti-war, because they've seen the butchery up close and know it really doesn't solve anything. They're turning on the news and seeing young men die every day, just like they did in real life, and nothing has gotten better yet. They have to be asking themselves, WTF? Was this a per-plate fundraiser or something?

[snippy]

20. The audience would have been carefully screened and hand picked.

Whistle Ass never speaks to an unscreened audience. At one inner city school appearance the kids who attended that school and their parents were not allowed in.

[radfringe]

34. yep

he only appears at controlled, pre-screened, by invitation-only "events" and at military bases

...just like Nixon

[SoCalDem]

35. and elementary classrooms

but not past the 3rd graders:)

He can "relate" to them:)

[aquart]

25. I thought they sat on their hands a lot. But it was a quick glance.

Didn't notice any enthusiasm.

[mediaman007]

27. The American Legion includes all servicemen...

Unlike the VFW, members of the American Legion only need to have been in uniform. On the otherhand, I think that the Veteran's of Foreign Wars is much more restrictive about its membership. In the VFW, members need to have served in armed conflict. (For a while returning soldiers from Viet Nam could not join the VFW because Viet Nam was only a conflict, not a war.)

If I'm wrong, I'm sorry.

Therefore American Legion members can be more enthusiastic about war, since most of them have not been in armed conflict.

[saigon68]

36. ABSOLUTELY THESE "HATS" ARE RIGHT WING WAR MONGERS

Over the years I have been invited numerous times to "join" the American Legion. I always refused because all I ever thought they were was a part of Joe McCarthy's now defunct brown shirt army.

Made up of a lot of "ex-service members" who served in the medical corps examining rashes and hemorroids at Ft Dix New Jersey, they love to wave the flag, listen to Lee Greenwood and support an AWOL draft dodging CHIMPANZEE.

They would vote to draft and send your kid to fight the OIL war for Cheney and Wolfie, in a Micro second

[SodoffBush]

10. * needs a deadbolt on his mouth

to match the one on his brain.

[robbedvoter]

11. Today, Poland, tomorrow, ze world!

How out of touch can these thugs be? he even mentioned the pathetic numbers: we have 31 allies who contribute 20,000 soldiers (and that includes UK, with probably 15,000). That to our 150,000! Did he think that was a good thing?

[TeeYiYi]

12. Sounds like ole' 'whistle ass' is at it again. ......n/t

TYY

[Rose Siding]

17. No kidding

He wants reverence for the same flag he was autographing last month?

And how can ousting Saddam be a blow to alqaeda, if they weren't connected?

Snip>

Mr. Bush has never accused Iraq under Saddam Hussein of a direct role in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But he has said many times that Mr. Hussein and his followers are of the same ilk as Al Qaeda terrorists. He asserted again today that what is left of Al Qaeda - ``wounded yet not destroyed'' - knows that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein ``is a defeat for them.''

Whistle Ass

[atreides1]

14. I Am Ashamed of the American Legion

He was speaking to the American Legion Convention each person there paid $2000.00 each. And the menu consisted of chicken fingers, corn on
the cob, cheesecake on a stick, cotton candy, and lemonade.

I will assume that most of the sheep attending were "Christians", I
just wonder why they didn't donate the money to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter instead.

I just joined the American Legion, and with this collaboration with a
coward who has done more to destroy veterans, as well as military
personnel and their families, I have decided to turn in my membership
and inform them that as far as I am concerned the American Legion consists of idiots and fools. I am ashamed of these so called veterans, what they should have done if they had any sense of honor, is to get up and walk out when he entered the stage.

This is why we veterans don't have much chance of changing the direction of this administration, we are being betrayed by our own.

Along with my membership card I will send a letter explaining that I
will not support an organization that so easily betrays veterans.

And it does not matter whether the applause was tepid or not, what
matters is that they still attended this farce and applauded at all.

Maybe someone in the American Legion wants to explain why they did this to the veterans that can't even get in to be seen by the VA.

[Hobarticus]

15. Thank you for your service, and thank you for a brave stand

You are a hero, in more ways than one, my friend.

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Try Vets for Peace instead.

Your $$ will be much better used.

When I got back from 'Nam I went into a couple of VFW & Am Legion bars & found I had nothing to say to those guys. They were mostly old drunks who had been sitting on the same barstools since the end of WWII, telling the same tired stories. And my impression was that most of them weren't combat types. They were WWII REMFs still clinging to the only thing of significance that had happened in their lives.

[samsingh]

16. who is Bush kidding or fooling?

the iraq blunder has shown how difficult it is for even a Superpower to manage a small country like Iraq. More than half the US military is not absorbed in foreign operations. What can we realistically do about any other hotspots.

Bush has made this country very vulnerable.

[w4rma]

19. Bush* is as much of a sociopath as Hitler was, IMHO

Lawyers Furious as US Builds (Gitmo) Death Chambers
LAWYERS expressed outrage yesterday at plans to put al-Qaeda suspects, including two Britons and an Australian, on military trial in Guantanamo Bay.
They would effectively be tried by a “kangaroo court”, stripped of all basic rights of due process that would be afforded in criminal courts in Britain or America, they said.
…
He said: “The construction of execution chambers makes virtually every lawyer in the Western world extremely angry. The idea that there is an artificial creation or enclave which, according to the Americans, is beyond the purview of all recognised systems of law is repugnant.”
…
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0705-05.htm
http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=8201&forum=DCForumID71

The Courier Mail: US Plans Death Camp (May 26, 2003)
THE US has floated plans to turn Guantanamo Bay into a death camp, with its own death row and execution chamber.
Prisoners would be tried, convicted and executed without leaving its boundaries, without a jury and without right of appeal, The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported yesterday.

The plans were revealed by Major-General Geoffrey Miller, who is in charge of 680 suspects from 43 countries, including two Australians.
…
"This camp was created to execute people. The administration has no interest in long-term prison sentences for people it regards as hard-core terrorists."
…
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6494000%255E401,00.html
http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=3258&forum=DCForumID71

CBS Producer Fired For Comparing The Mood In America To That Of Germans Who Helped Hitler's Rise To Power
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2845.htm

Producer Is a Casualty in CBS's 'Hitler' Miniseries
…
In the April 12 TV Guide, the publication says that "Gernon stated his belief that fear fueled both the Bush administration's adoption of a preemptive-strike policy and the public's acceptance of it." According to the article, "Gernon said a similar fearfulness in a devastated post-World War I Germany was 'absolutely' behind that nation's acceptance of Hitler's extremism."

Gernon is quoted as saying of the miniseries, which tracks Hitler's rise to power in 1930s Germany: "It basically boils down to an entire nation gripped by fear, who ultimately chose to give up their civil rights and plunged the whole world into war.

"I can't think of a better time to examine this history than now," he added.

The article further quotes him as saying that "when an entire country becomes afraid for their sovereignty, for their safety, they will embrace ideas and strategies and positions that they might not embrace otherwise."
…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A5649-2003Apr10¬Found=true

[snippy]

21. Whistle Ass gets wood from war.

"There's no telling how many wars it will take to secure freedom in the homeland."

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020805-4.html

[5thGenDemocrat]

22. I have a nephew in Kuwait right now

When is the Bush Crime Family going to offer up either Jenna or Tonic for this Imperial Crusade? My family has had at least one member in every single war this country's ever been in, save Bush War I. We're getting tired of it -- no, wait, we're getting SICK and tired of it.
Bring 'em home now -- that includes Ryan (said nephew).
John
US Army 1974-76.

[theHandpuppet]

37. Is anyone else sick...

... of hearing Bush refer to this country as "the homeland"? Shades of the fascist Germany of Hitler... it gives me the willies everytime I hear Bush use that "homeland" catchphrase! Why not just "our nation" or "the United States"?

[Nottingham]

23. Ya Bush is into World Domination!

:bounce: We lost our country when the Supreme Court allowed him to take over our nation!

[Zhade]

24. There's only one more war I would support

A new war of independence from these fools.

[FadingOptimist]

28. Hear, hear!!!!! n/t

[Dhalgren]

29. Have to concur

with your post. Sad, but true.

[Redleg]

26. Stupid warmongering piece of shit.

I wish he would just shut his f@cking mouth. Jaysus, this asshole and his "preemptive strike" bullshit is pissing me off. He needs to go. I don't give a damn who gets the Democratic nomination, we need to get Bush out of office. I will even vote for Joe Lieberman to get rid of Bush.

[DoYouEverWonder]

30. How about the part about total victory

We must have total victory?

Total victory over who, the rest of the world? Who the fuck does he think he is and why is he allowed to continue to get away with this crap?

[peterh]

31. Entering the age of discontinuity

I don’t feel that what Ian Buchanan is saying would come as a shock to the WH….The self-perpetuation is actually what they want. Violence begets violence….and how else can the legion recruit new members?


<http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/8/25/business/6014408&sec=business>


“Focusing our attack on the symptoms (of terrorism) is doomed to failure? it may magnify, not solve the problem. There is a definite danger of it being self-perpetuating,” he said, warning that the new US policy of pre-emptive strikes “driven by political expediency” against “easier targets” like Iraq could prove counter-productive and result in more rather than fewer terrorist attacks. The recent attacks in Jakarta and Baghdad appear to support this case.
“To really win the war on terror, we must address the root causes of terrorism,” he said.

“If the current consumers, mostly in wealthy western countries, seek to protect their current positions, I see no way to avoid a dramatic growth in global conflict and the ranks of the disenfranchised,” he said gravely.

[symbolman]

33. nothing like a hand picked

batch of useless, fatass, stupid drunks, many of whom never served in combat to give high fives to Whistle Ass..

this is absolutely disgusting and worthy of a Nazi convention..

ship these assholes to the front lines..

It is time to draw the line on Iraq. Let's start asking some straight up questions:

One) do you support this action?

Two) Have you signed up to be shipped to the front lines?

Three) Do you have your bags packed and are you ready to go?

Four) what's that brown stuff running down your leg?

I'm only saying this because I'm a Vet and these bastards are aiding and abetting the deaths of american soldiers for no good reason other than they are bullshitted beyond belief.