Bush says he feels war's grief personally

[Judi Lynn]

Bush says he feels war's grief personally
08:32 AM CDT on Tuesday, October 14, 2003

By G. ROBERT HILLMAN / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON – President Bush acknowledged on Monday that the war against Iraq and its aftermath have taken a toll on him as well as the nation.

Often writing the families of those military personnel who have died, Mr. Bush said, "I tell them I'm sorry about the grief they suffer."

"I try to do the best I can to send our heartfelt condolences," he added in an interview with the Belo Capital Bureau. "And I also remind them that I believe the sacrifice their children and, or, husband, or wife has made is in the national interests of our country."

"It is hard," the president said, whether he conveys his condolences as commander in chief in a letter or in person.
But he added, "I owe that to those who have suffered." (snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/101403dnintbushiraq.4c06.html

Awwwwww, ain't he cute?

[proud patriot]

1. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

:mad: :grr: fffffffft ffffffft :grr: :mad:

[Drifter]

54. The only grief he is feeling ...

is based on the fact that they have not been able to steal their oil as quickly as planned.

Cheers
Drifter

[truthisfreedom]

2. go ahead george, we feel for ya... go ahead and eat some sweets.

and please, don't hold back on the pretzels and beer.

[PennyLane]

4. Especially.........

Pretzels!x(

[Fovea]

57. and go ahead and chase it down with

8 or 9 Oxycontin.

You are not numb enough yet.

[roguevalley]

3. its always about him.

isn't it.

[Hieronymus]

12. self centered

Of course, it's all about him. Bush is a very small man who is totally self obsessed. Add to that, a mean streak.

[Lisa]

49. you got it ...

The mark of someone who's truly egocentric is never even wondering about whether he's too self-absorbed! I'm certain that this explains some of Bush's stunningly inappropriate remarks and behaviour we've already observed -- everything from giving foreign dignitaries insulting nicknames, to calling his wife "a lump in the bed", and spitting on the White House lawn.

Welcome to DU, Hieronymus!

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. It's a form letter

IdiotBoy was only recounting the parts he 'member'd.

He just signs'em. He doesn't have to memorize them ('sides, that would be a big task, and he's got more 'portant things to do.)

[Paschall]

10. It would be interesting if the families of the dead would release...

...the letters they received from Shrub, huh?

I'll bet they're all identical.

And I doubt he even signs them. Don't they have machines for that?

[calimary]

36. Astroturf, no doubt.

He makes me sick. My reaction to his "I feel your pain" crap is UTTER revulsion! You should know what it is to feel pain, george. Have you been to any of these soldiers' funerals and hugged the widows as you once told someone with great grandiosity was part of your job?

Here's hoping you'll find out what it is to feel pain when your ass gets swept OUT of Al Gore's House in 2004. That would be a good start. Then you could go climb back into your bourbon bottle and snivel about the big mess Daddy couldn't get you out of, this time.

[snippy]

33. He probably closes the letter like this.

Bring 'em on,

George W. Bush,

Star of the Carrier Costume Party and First Warrior against Terrorism

[AnnitaR]

6. Makes me sick!

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

I guess that's why he has made no attempt to attend any of their funerals. I guess that's why he is making no attempt to make sure all of their children have kevlar vests. I guess that's why he has no plan to bring them home any time soon.

Going to have to go get my meds now. I'm close to losing it over this one!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[izzie]

22. The paper say he is in a bad, bad mood.

This or bad press?

[calimary]

39. Well, then, let's help that bad, bad mood!

Make it EVEN WORSE by calling your congresscritter - FREE!!!!! And demanding a) an END TO THE WAR; b) NOT ANOTHER NICKEL FOR THE WAR; and c) ******* MOST URGENT ******* DEMAND AN INDEPENDENT PROSECUTOR for TRAITOR-GATE!!!!!!!

The TOLL FREE Capitol Hill Switchboard number is

1 (800) 839 - 5276.

They'll transfer you, for free, to the office of anybody in the House and/or Senate. DO IT! Call a rethug! MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!! Keep jamming down their throats what they don't want to hear. It may convince a couple of the moderates to change their minds...

If we keep hammering away, eventually we'll break through.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

7. Right. And I'm dating Jennifer Lopez.

Hope the grief doesn't fuck up his game.

[grasswire]

8. now, watch this swing.......(eom)

[tainted_chimp]

9. He's only spewing this shit

to try and convince the American people that he is "compassionate". Gotta keep manipukelating the sheeple...
scuze me whilst I :puke:

:grr: :grr: :grr:

[Journeyman]

11. How a true President expresses the Nation's grief. . .

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,--

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln



It is a subject of debate if this was written by Mr. Lincoln or by one of his secretaries, John Hay. It is in keeping with his general tenor and undoubtedly would have been reviewed by him before it was posted.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

16. Which brings this to mind which my Avatar wrote in regard to Philippine

American War at the turn of the century.
The War Prayer
by Mark Twain


It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.

Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation


*God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest! Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!*
Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued with his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:

"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- except he pause and think.

"God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. the *whole* of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory--*must* follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.

(*After a pause.*) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!"

It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

[9215]

29. Five sons!!

I'm out of words here.

[caledesi]

13. Yeah, sure, that's why the dead troops come into Andrews AFB at midnight.

Then their bodies get "shipped" home where there is a burial ceremony w/ a f*cking bugle recording. DISGUSTING! If he felt so bad, why wouldn't our brave men and women come home to a REAL ceremony? Hell, even in Britian, they show respect for their dead soldiers!

[Paschall]

14. "I try to do the best I can to send our heartfelt condolences."

I tell them, "I learned some good lessons from Vietnam." (Shrub, March, 2002)

And, "I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war." (Shrub, January, 2002)

http://www.hereinreality.com/commander.html

[jokerman93]

15. Odd Way to Put It

"And I also remind them that I believe the sacrifice their children and, or, husband, or wife has made is in the national interests of our country."

And strikes me as deeply disengenuous.

[LibertyorDeath]

17. Evil to the core.

:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:
:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:
:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:
:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:
:grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr::grr:

[LibDemAlways]

18. If the chimp ever did put pen to paper

(something he probably hasn't done since he copied his last term paper over 30 years ago) the results would be something like this: Dear Family of dead solder,

I am sory for yur loss. Yur loved won din't die in vain but fur Murica. Be proud they fot the evilduers. Luv, Yur Comander in Cheif

[Punkingal]

19. He doesn't feel anything......

except a sense of entitlement for himself. :mad:

[farmboxer]

20. Yea, That's Why Bush Went AWOL, Became A Deserter!

When it was Bush's time to fight, he ran! www.awolbush.com

What if our troops were to do as Bush did?

[moondust]

21. That explains why he goes to all those funerals.

Not.

[MarianJack]

23. I Think That...

...his grief is sooo bad he probably goes a few more strokes over par and can hardly enjoy his 97 beers a day quite as much.

What a rat-bastard. I apologize to any rats and bastards I may have offended with the comparison.

[laylah]

24. I think that I am going to

:puke: If he feels it THAT personally, then why doesn't he encourage his daughters, nieces, nephews, etc to enlist? Just asking :mad:

jenn

[kskiska]

45. There was an article here not long ago about Jeb's son

who's joining a Texas law firm while studying and contemplating a career in politics. Jeb talked about how proud he was of his son. Not a mention of why he's avoided military service.

[Malva Zebrina]

25. Yup--he thinks saying something means it is true

Like a small child who is fond of fantasies. I am still waiting for him to "hug" one mother, wife, child or family member of any troop that he sent to Iraq-like he so boastfully bragged was his, and his alone, responsibility--He has not approached anyone whose child was killed after the idiot himself, taunted and dared those who are resisting the American invasions and occupation with "Bring em on"

[Papa]

51. Why doesn't some reporter ask Bush about the hugging?

We all knew Bush was talking shit when he said he understood the terrible nature of war and that HE was the one that would have to hug the mothers, now it's time for the media, or better yet one of our candidates for President, or a Senator, to start hammering away at how full of shit Bush is. Bush says "I mean what I say", well what did he mean when he said he would hug the mothers? In his limited vocabulary, does HUG equal writing letters?

[Lisa]

55. his idea of "consoling" them is to offer them his autograph ...

Like in that 9/11 movie, where instead of hugging a bereaved family, he scrawls his signature on the photo of their missing firefighter and says, "tell him you got to meet me".

The real Bush probably did do that.

[bif]

26. It's probably affecting his short game

n/t

[jayfish]

31. That Was Probably The Lowest, Most Inconsiderate Thing I Have Read Today.

But it was damn funny. :hi: There's nothing better than dry old Michigan humor.

Jay

[Wednesdays]

27. And to think they mocked Clinton for saying, "I feel your pain"...

"Some of you may die, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make."
--Bush*, modeling himself after Lord Farquaad of "Shrek."

[tabasco]

28. Anyone Who Disregards Diplomacy And Chooses War First...

doesn't give a damn about the troops. The ONLY reason Bush cares about dead soldiers is how they affect his poll ratings. As a veteran, I am disgraced by this monster we have as Commander-In-Chief.

[Desertrose]

30. Yeah, and I'm the frikkin tooth fairy...

sure ya do Georgie...but first ya gotta have a heart & conscience to feel....

Peace
DR

[Blue_Roses]

32. And THIS is his strategy for winning in 2004

appearing to be "compassionate" to those who are hurting. This is how he plays on their emotions. Taken straight from Karl Rove's, "How to steal an election handbook." This is Karl Rove's strategy and it only stands to get worse. I can hear it now:

ROVE: Get out there and "show" them compassion and how you are hurting with their loss. This will make them think that you actually care and they will identify with you as "one of them." It worked in 2000 and it will work now. Go on now GW...get busy...we've got to start playing on them emotions now in order to make up for lost time."

BUSH: "Okay, Karl, you know what's best."


People need to see this for what it really is...strategy. What the people need to be asking Bush is IF you REALLY care about the people, then WHY did you lie to us about going to war in the FIRST place and WHERE are the jobs and HOW MUCH more do you intend to give to your fat cat friends.

[Lisa]

56. this is probably exactly what will happen ...

Just as you say. They'll be trying to market him as a kindly, caring, gentle human being. Watch for extra news footage of Georgie, sobbing at memorials (the 9/11 anniversary coinciding with the GOP convention will do nicely). Rove'll be squeezing onion juice onto Bush's hankies, just for the extra convincing tears.

[maggrwaggr]

34. "I try to wipe the smirk off my face ...."

as I inwardly laugh at how these suckers have died for my corporate buddies."

"Flypaper", Bush continues, "is what they really are. These are poor ignorant boys who will never go to Yale, so what do I care? "

[bushisanidiot]

35. Bullshit. He Doesn't Write Letters. Rove's printing press prints out the

all the same cookie cutter letters and some dimwit on AWOL's staff rubberstamps his "X" at the bottom. AWOL can't be kept from golfing or falling off his little scooter in order to write love letters, let alone actually ATTEND a dead american soldier's funeral.

[tom_paine]

37. LIAR!

The Founding Fathers must be rolling in their graves at this lickspittle little Emperor and his pathetic lies.

So alike to the lickspittle King they broke away from.

[benfranklin1776]

38. Indeed he is the intellectual and moral twin of King George III.

As I recall this was the same person who when launching the war pumped his fist in the air and shouted "Feels good." His handlers were most upset that the BBC caught him in this display of frat boy enthusiasm for the commencement of a rain of death and destruction that has killed and maimed untold thousands. That display, I submit, is his true feeling on the matter.

[tom_paine]

40. Ben...my man!

Yes, occasionally the Emperor*s True Self leaks out past the carefully scripted and psychoengineered lies.

"It would be a lot easier if this was a dictatorship, as long as I was the dictator."
--Emperor Smirky*, on 3 seperate occasions

"Who cares what you think?"
--Emperor Smirky*, 7/4/2001, Philadelphia

My greatest fear is not that he is the intellectual and moral twin of King George III, but that he is the intellectial twin of Marcos, Baby Doc, Hitler or Stalin, none of which is out of the question at this time.

Or perhaps Emperor Cartagia of Centauri (if you are a "Babylon 5" fan)

[benfranklin1776]

41. Thomas always glad to see you providing some Common Sense.

Yes I share the same concerns about the parallels with such latter day despots as well. King George III leapt immediately to mind only since he was the despot with which the founders were most personally acquainted however I have no doubt they would
share your concern over a sitting President's cavalier disregard of our democratic traditions and joking in Beavis style (of Beavis and Butthead) "HA HA HA HA, would be cool to be a dictator, yeah, HA HA, cool" "Who cares what you think, HA HA HA" This was an individual that was supposedly a history major??? Guess the old Yale undergrad history program is light on that whole "principles of representative democracy" thing.

[mindfulNJ]

42. Gag me...

Good God...do you believe it's still more than a year until we can get rid of this lying sack of dung?:puke:

[ibegurpard]

43. All I can say to this is

:puke:

[Tinoire]

44. Doesn't sound like they love him in this interview

CFTM-- -“So you were getting one a day killed and at least five injured? Did you know many of the guys killed?”

USA-- -“That’s a real dumb fu..ing question to ask me. You know what my rank is, of course I knew them, I was the head NCO for years in our unit. I knew most of the guys who died and I held a lot of hands as they were dying. You tell me that’s not gonna to give you nightmares!” “I had one guy tell me all he wanted was to see his little daughter; she was born three days after the war started. He died in the sand holding my hand and crying because his daughter would never know him. Tell me that’s fu..ing right. Where was George Bush when this kid was gasping for air and spitting his blood on foreign soil?”

CFTM-- -“I talked to you about this the other day. Do you think George Bush is the wrong man to order troops into battle when he ducked it himself?”

USA-- -“That asshole went AWOL and never showed up for duty and then he has the nerve to take us into two different wars that will be going on for years. I do not believe he should be president of this country, he’s a complete idiot and he’s controlled by madmen with a drive for only profits and getting oil.”

<snip>

CFTM-- -“Alright tell me what it was really like and don’t skip the gory details. I want people to be shocked and offended enough to realize why you spoke out and what it is doing to our military by sending them over there with blind flag waving and cheers of false victory”

USA-- -“Well the first thing I would like to thank Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Congress for is that nice huge cut they made to Veterans Benefits as soon as the war started. I am in the Reserves after years of active duty and now I cannot get PTSD counseling or many medical benefits I used to take for granted. I knew I would have the benefits because I was laying my life down for my country. Now my benefits are cut by around 2/3 and I have to go to either group therapy or pay for a private counselor out of my own pocket. What happens when someone like me has been through enormous battle stress and combat fatigue and then comes home to no counseling?”

“I’ll tell you what is going to happen, he will either kill himself or take a bunch of people with him. Some of the guys coming back are going to have gone through the worst time of their lives with their buddies dying and getting hurt, and then they’ll find out they got screwed out of any counseling. It is the greatest disservice America is committing against soldiers who fought for this country and may come back wounded or horribly scarred. Medical services, school aid to dependents, school aid for the vets, all slashed to the bare bones; mental health and drug and alcohol counseling are being eliminated or the waiting lists will be years long for whatever services manage to survive.”

“That is one thing the American people still have not really caught on to is the fact that while they were screaming out ‘Support Our Troops’ the current regime makers were fu..ing the military and veterans out of almost every social program and non essential service that would make life easier.”

“Bush really fu..ked us while we were gone. We found out about after being in the middle of heavy fighting for several weeks. It was one of the first things I read in Stars and Stripes, and I thought it was a joke because it was just to hard to believe Congress and our leaders would screw us that bad while we were fighting and dying.”

<snip>

"Let all those people who support our troops in on that nice surprise that Bush gave us. That’s how much we really mean to Bush, the Department of Defense and all those other stupid assholes who keep saying how good we’re doing over there. Let those patriotic morons go and fight and die for our country. Let them leave their families behind for months and maybe come back home in a box. I’ll be the first one to salute them or honor them when they die.”

<snip>

“I damn sure will not go back over there even if they throw me in Leavenworth. I never could understand how a guy could be a conscientious objector until what I just went through. I wish more guys would stand up and tell Bush and the Pentagon they will not fight their war for oil. We should not have to die for these rich bastards profits and enrichment.”

<snip>

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0310/S00105.htm

[tlcandie]

47. Something that should have precluded your info IMO Tinoi..re

<snip>
The following interview was with an enlisted man, but someone very high up in the enlisted ranks, with over 20 years of military service. I have promised not to reveal his identity for reasons that he has a family and has been told not to speak to journalists. He told me the Army had put a gag order on him while he was home, and told him they would give him twenty years in prison if he spoke out in any manner against the US or the government.

I took several weeks to finish this interview because of not being able to safely be seen with this individual out of his fears of being caught speaking out.
<snip>

[Tinoire]

53. You're right; it is important that he's a seasoned Senior NCO

and not some poor scared kid fresh out of college.

Peace

[KamaAina]

46. Ah yes. That would explain why he's been to so many funerals

for the troops he supports so wholeheartedly.

What's that? He hasn't been to ANY funerals?! Why that so-and-so...

...never mind.

[TOhioLiberal]

48. Uhhh...yeah RIGHT

geez guess its barf time...:puke:

[LevChernyi]

50. "Fuck Saddam"!

"We're taking him out!"

Yeah, I'm sure he so, so, cared then or now about human beings....

[peekaloo]

52. Crayola makes a "grief" colored crayon?

Eat shit you selected heap of parrot droppings!

[screembloodymurder]

58. On which tee?

The 19th hole?