WP: 'Lessons of Sept. 11' Again Take Center Stage (we need "reeducating")

[Pirate Smile]

'Lessons of Sept. 11' Again Take Center Stage

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 29, 2005; Page A01

One year after the transfer of power in Iraq, President Bush found himself in a familiar, if unsettling, position last night, as he sought to reinvigorate public support for his policies in the face of almost daily suicide bombings and continued U.S. casualties that have called into question whether the administration has a workable strategy for success and exit there.

Bush signaled no shifts in policy, as Democrats such as Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) have called for in recent days. Instead his goal was to reeducate Americans on his view of the stakes involved in Iraq and the consequences to the Middle East and U.S. security if the insurgents prevail.

His clearest message was to argue anew that Iraq is the critical battle in a war against terrorists that began with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He made repeated references to those attacks to underscore that U.S. security depends on defeating the insurgency in Iraq. "After September the 11th, I made a commitment to the American people," he said. "This nation will not wait to be attacked again. We will defend our freedom. We will take the fight to the enemy." He then added, "Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war."

Sept. 11 remains Bush's most reliable argument with the public when he faces political headwinds; it gave him the highest-rated moments of his presidency and helped sustain him through a difficult reelection campaign. Surprisingly, given how effectively he has used the collective emotion of that day in the past, Sept. 11 has been largely missing in the administration's discussions of Iraq this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062801530.html

[shraby]

1. ** has milked that teat dry. n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

2. Knight-Ridder called this lying implication what it is:

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12007729.htm
Posted on Tue, Jun. 28, 2005

Bush spells out strategy for war in Iraq

By Ron Hutcheson

Knight Ridder Newspapers
(snip)

Calling the operation in Iraq "difficult and dangerous," Bush said "the lessons of September 11" require Americans to stand firm against an enemy that ignores the rules of conventional warfare. Although Bush has acknowledged that there's no known link between Iraq and the Sept. 11 attacks, he implied a connection in a prime-time speech that was intended to shore up flagging support for the war.

(snip)

"We have more work to do, and there will be tough moments that test America's resolve," he said in his prepared remarks. "The American people will not falter under threat - and we will not allow our future to be determined by car bombers and assassins."

Bush again invoked Sept. 11 in describing the stakes in Iraq. He said a defeat for U.S. troops there would "yield the future of the Middle East to men like (Osama) bin Laden."

The CIA recently expressed concern that since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraq has become a better training ground for terrorists than Afghanistan was when it served as the home base for bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network. In Afghanistan, Islamic fanatics trained in desert hideouts; in Iraq, they're getting real-world experience in urban warfare against the U.S. military, CIA analysts concluded.

[Pirate Smile]

3. I love Knight Rider. Call BS, BS!

[rodeodance]

4. did you note that Jr called military service a 'calling' now!!

[saigon68]

5. Toothless Repuke Rustics love this reasoning

IT IS SIMPLE AND SOMETHING THEY CAN UNDERSTAND

One only needs to look at Eastern Europe in WW 2 where jews and gypsies were turned in to the SS by rustic peasants for rations

These peasants were bombarded 24/7 that the subhumans must be rounded up.

[DoYouEverWonder]

6. Too bad he didn't make a commitment

to protect the American people BEFORE 9-11. Then maybe we wouldn't be at war with the wrong country and maybe 3000 people would still be alive.

[drduffy]

7. oh, for lordy's sake....

his folks helped plan it. They needed it and justified it the same way it has been justified in the past

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. Of course

who else had so much to gain from the attack?

[Roland99]

11. What was that he said last night about "his watch"?

I don't remember exactly what he'd said but I remember spewing a long trail of expletives toward the TV after that.

[Roland99]

12. Here's the passage:

The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September the 11th, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden.

For the sake of our nation's security, this will not happen on my watch.

Fucking prick! September 11 already *did* happen on your watch! ARGH!!

I *despise* this fucking piece of shit masquerading as the president.

[Barrett808]

13. I think, the Iraqi people, given the power, would toss Zarqawi & Co. out

at the first opportunity.

[Roland99]

14. They would if he was really a person

[donkeyotay]

15. What were the lessons of Sept. 11th?

I had briefly hoped we would have some national dialog about our policies. I had hoped we would do the logical analysis of what had happened, what the failures were, who might be responsible, and what real changes might benefit us BEFORE we charged off looking for someone to bomb.

Clearly, I am a soft, delusional liberal. I missed the obvious lesson: turn over your money, your freedom and your children. God's army is on the march, being led by that miserable failure, that frat boy that no more believes in Jesus than I believe in flying saucers.

[indepat]

9. Who would have thunk unthwarted 9-11 attacks now give W his best

political weapon and cover.

[sb43221]

16. Failure is his greatest tool and weapon

Sad it doesn't work that way in the real world, unless you're Ken Lay and others.

[newyawker99]

19. Hi sb43221!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[reprobate]

17. That's what 9/11 was designed for in the first place.

To give the Fuhrer cover for everything the far right wing wanted.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. kick

[VegasWolf]

18. The brain-washing is starting to wear off. nt