What are our talking points on the speech tonight?

[Jackson4Gore]

Can you guys help compile a list of things the President said that were false and such? Kinda of a rebuttal?

DU rebuttal to the President!

[Goldmund]

1. Here's an interesting thing I haven't seen anybody post

He said, to paraphrase, that giving up in Iraq would lead to Iraq turning into something like the pre-war Afghanistan, a sanctuary of terrorists.

Isn't it interesting that he chose to invoke Afghanistan, and not the pre-war Iraq -- tacitly ackowlegding that the pre-war Iraq was not a sanctuary of terrorism, as he previously claimed?

[KerryOn]

2. Hers a start:

1) After September the 11th, I made a commitment to the American people: This nation will not wait to be attacked again. We will defend our freedom. We will take the fight to the enemy. Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war.

Iraq did not attack us and there were no terrorist in Iraq, until Bush attacked Iraq.

2) We are removing a source of violence and instability, and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren.

How is starting a war with Iraq, a foundation for peace?

3) And when the Middle East grows in democracy and prosperity and hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors, lose their recruits, and lose their hopes for turning that region into a base for attacks on America and our allies around the world.

Bush opened the region up to them. Sadam was evil, but he did a mighty fine job of keeping the terrorist out of Iraq.

4) The terrorists -- both foreign and Iraqi -- failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty. They failed to break our Coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war. They failed to prevent free elections. They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq's diverse population. And they failed to stop Iraqis from signing up in large number with the police forces and the army to defend their new democracy.

If sovereignty has been transferred, then what are we still doing over there?
I would say they already have a civil war.
But the terrorist sure wre good at suppressing the vote. (Must have gotten lessons from Bush.)
Very few of Iraq’s citizens are defending their new democracy.

5) 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.

Then why on earth did you attack Iraq, and create a ew breading ground for them?

6) Today Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a variety of missions.

The actual number of Iraq troops trained for combat is less than 2000.

[paparush]

3. No Mention of WMD, but Plenty of References to 9/11

By my count (speech started at 8:00 pm)

9/11 Reference #1 at 8:02 p.m.
9/11 Reference #2 at 8:04 p.m.
9/11 Reference #3 at 8:09 p.m.
9/11 Reference #4 at 8:24 p.m.


BTW - Suprisingly, Bush referred to Osama Bin Laden by name...

Osama Reference #1 at 8:07 p.m.
Osama Reference #2 at 8:09 p.m.

1st spontaneous applause did not occur until 8:25 p.m.

[Doctor_J]

4. Since we don't ever get to talk, what would be the point?

:shrug:

[JHBowden]

5. What he didn't say is more important.

No plan for withdrawal, no exit strategy, no plan to win the peace. Just the same banalities about staying the course and finishing the mission.

[Tin Man]

6. W still unable to lucidate a cogent plan for the future Iraq, despite

...pre-address WH promises that he would do just that.

[Mountainman]

7. Basically he is a one trick pony - 9/11 happened, therefore Iraq

People who write letters to the editor of my local paper and people who call talk shows supporting the war consistently say that we are fighting those who attacked us on 9/11. "we have to fight them over there so that we don't have to fight them here" "we can never forget what happened to us on 9/11"

The talking point should be, Bush lied about Iraq since 2000 and he is lying about Iraq now. The war is about oil then and it still is. The reason the war on terror won't end anytime soon is because Bush's supporters are making a lot of money from it. That is also why it is OK for them to pay the price in lives because they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. People mean nothing to them.

[Jack Rabbit]

8. This speech will be last year's news by the weekend

There's nothing to have talking points about.