New Speech Thread

Instead of adding to the old one.

I actually read the speech (full transcript here) instead of listened to it, which probably improved my reaction, since I didn't have to hear the dead crowd, fake applause, and Bush's delivery (not exactly FDR). The text is nothing we haven't heard before, though I appreciated the things I heard that were new. Although gradually mixing US military leaders with Iraqi troops is kind of a no-brainer, I'm glad we're doing it. And the concept of shared sacrifice was buried in there, particularly this call on the war supporters to serve:

I thank those of you who have re-enlisted in an hour when your country needs you. And to those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our Armed Forces. We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. Those who serve today are taking their rightful place among the greatest generations that have worn our Nation's uniform.

Paging Jonah Goldberg...

I agree with David Gergen that the insistent references to 9/11 are somewhat offensive, considering Iraq never had anything to do with it. Indeed al Qaeda is in Iraq NOW, but that's a direct result of this war. And Billmon noticed that there was a new technique of splitting out terrorists from insurgents (about four or five instances in the speech), surmising that the terrorists are the ones we are fighting, while the insurgents are the ones we are negotiating with.

Predictably, there was no talk of those negotiations wth insurgent leaders, acknowledged by US generals. And the same "they'd wait us out" arguments were made to dismiss an exit strategy, despite the fact that Bush asked for a timetable on Kosovo two months into that war. Nor was there a mention that the current course hasn't yielded the best results. We're just going to dance with the gurl we brung.

But the real reason I think that nobody will be satisfied with this speech (46% numbers in a poll with 50% Republican repsondents!) is that deep down, we all know that there are no good options left to us in Iraq. We passed the last positive option there about a year ago. If we withdraw and send in the UN we simply grease the wheels for a civil war. If we add more troops we simply turn the country against us by having them view us as occupiers. If we wait until we train a good bit of their troops (and the 160,000 trained Iraqi troops number Bush threw out is an absolute joke) we'll be there a dozen years, like Rumsfeld predicted. If we negotitate a settlement with insurgents... well, we're trying that, and we all know how disastrous that would be to this doctrine of spreading freedom (putting former Baathists back in charge? I guess it's force of habit).

Nobody really wants to hear it, but we've alrady lost in Iraq, and it's a loss of our own doing. I'm not suggesting withdrawal, I'm actually not advocating everything. I'm merely stating the facts as they are. I don't expect this from my political leaders.