Remarks on the Bush Speech

I caught the end of President Bush's speech to the 82nd Airborne on my way home from work. I have to say, I love hearing President Bush speak; except for his pronunciation of the word "nuclear" (and I can get over that; if that's the best his opponents can come up with, then he must be a pretty sharp guy), his speeches are, I think, nearly flawless, and extremely genuine. As far as I'm concerned, these are the most important points of the speech.

The Iraq Campaign is a difficult one, but it is a crucial campaign in the War on Terror, and we are winning. The Iraqi security forces are slowly coming into their own, and they have every bit as much courage as their American allies. We are winning: the American military, the Coalition of the Willing, and our Iraqi allies.

We will not set an artificial time table for our campaign in Iraq. To do so would be irresponsible. We will be in Iraq as long as we are needed, and no longer; to send more troops would undermine the mission of transferring responsibility for security and administration to the Iraqi government and security forces, and it would send the message that we intend to stay forever. Neither of these are true.

Early withdrawal would send the wrong message to our Iraqi allies. It would infer that our support for them is contingent upon timelines and political considerations. It would imply that we will not go the distance; it implies that we will not finish the job that we started. This is not the truth, and it's not the way Americans do things.

Early withdrawal would send the wrong message to our troops. It would infer that their brethren have died, and they have sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears for a mission that was not worth finishing in the first place. It would send the message that America embarks upon missions that are not worth accomplishing. It would devalue their accomplishments and their sacrifices to pull out before the job is done. That may have been good enough for other administrations, but this administration will not negate the sacrifices of America's finest individuals by withdrawing from Iraq early on the basis of political concerns.

Early withdrawal would send the wrong message to our enemies. Saddam Hussein violated international laws for decades because he didn't believe that anyone would hold him accountable. Usama bin Laden got bolder and more aggressive because President Clinton all but ignored al Qaeda's attacks against America; bin Laden called us a "paper tiger". To withdraw from Iraq would be a flat out admission to our enemies that they just have to wait us out, and then go on with their campaigns of repression and violence against the innocent. It would say that we don't feel our ideals, our freedoms, our culture, are worth fighting to protect. This is categorically false, and because it is categorically false, we will not withdraw our forces from Iraq until the mission has been accomplished.

As President Bush spoke of the importance of codifying an Iraqi Constitution, my mind wandered a bit, and I had a fairly profound thought.

There are two forms of ultimate power in the world: a weapon, and a vote. A vote gives you the power to influence the policy of the community, the county, the state, the nation, and the world. The ability to carry and use a weapon gives you the power to defend your God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The profound part? If you take away the right to bear arms, it becomes that much easier to deny men the right and duty of voting. Take away the right to vote, and it becomes that much easier to deny men their right and duty of defending their property, their liberty, and their lives.

If an individual advocates the surrender of your arms, that individual has no business in a position of power. If an individual advocates the surrender of your vote, that individual has no business in a position of power.

Thus Saith the Fly.