Excerpt from w's speech tonight: Bloodshed in Iraq is 'worth it'...no joke [View All]

[mopaul]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050628/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush;_ylt=AlAR6leKCto4iAYOb67TszCs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

"Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said, according to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House. "It is worth it."

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"The work in Iraq is difficult and dangerous," the president said. "We have more work to do and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve. ... The American people do not falter under threat, and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins."

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Bush reserved a few hours before the speech for a private session to console the loved ones of fallen soldiers. Though he often holds these meetings when visiting military bases, the White House's decision to schedule time with 33 grieving families on the same day as the major address underscored the president's plan to offer a more somber assessment than usual of a war that has killed over 1,740 U.S. military personnel and 12,000 Iraqi civilians.