Why Bush should have been left out of the speech

[Jumping John]

Obama's quote from his Iraq Wqr is over speech:

As we do, I am mindful that the Iraq War has been a contentious issue at home. Here, too, it is time to turn the page. This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W. Bush.

It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one could doubt President Bush's support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security. As I have said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it. And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women, and our hope for Iraq's future.

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Reasons exhibited by the CinC that showed little love or support for the troops:


General Shinseki -- fired for telling the truth to Rumsfeld

Rumsfeld and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz criticized the Army's chief of staff, Gen. Eric Shinseki, after Shinseki told Congress......

Bush later taunted gunmen in Iraq to "BRING IT ON,"

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At the end of the interview, Bush was asked again about any regrets.

"One of the things I've learned is that sometimes words have consequences you don't intend to mean," he responded, leaning back in his chair in the Roosevelt Room. "The classic example was `bring 'em on.'"

Some former military leaders had criticized the president's remark, saying it might goad Iraqis and put troops at risk. Bush's opponents often used the "dead or alive" comment against him, pointing out that bin Laden was still on the loose.

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/003519.php

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And it was Cheney who said, "You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don't matter," As mothers scrambled to buy military equipment to protect the troops that Bush "SUPPORTED."

Suzanne Werfelman is a mother and a teacher who has been shopping for individual body armor. This is not in response to threats from her elementary-class students in Sciota, Pa. it's a desperate attempt to protect her son in Iraq. Like many other U.S. service members in Iraq, her son was given a Vietnam-era flak jacket that cannot stop the type of weapons used today. It appears that parents across the country are now purchasers of flak jackets because of the failure of the military to supply soldiers with modern bullet proof vests.

http://www.bodyarmornews.com/body-armor-links/flak-jackets.htm


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And remember in 2003 when Bush even said the war was done:

So, though Bush stated in his infamous "Mission Accomplished" declaration in 2003, "Major combat operations have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country," more than four years later major combat operations have never ceased.

As we looked at tapes of Bush archived on the Net, we watched glowing assessments by Bush of the "success" and "progress" in Iraq. Yet all the time, he was letting down our GIs, because the situation on the ground was deteriorating and becoming more dangerous every day.

Under the guidance of propaganda gurus, the White House and Pentagon have played a daily game of prestidigitation with the facts. They have turned fictions into perceived realities, with the general acquiescence of the mainstream media (with some rare exceptions, such as the McClatchy news chain).

One example of this re-creation of "reality" at every new sunrise is the number of times that the White House has announced a "new way" in Iraq to placate those who see the travesty of this botched and senseless conflict. We have had, essentially, a new way, a new new way, a new new new way … and running out of space, the White House on July 10 switched from a "new way" to a "new message" without even bothering to pretend there was anything new in substance going on with the Bush/Cheney failed military and diplomatic tactics.

http://blog.buzzflash.com/editorials/146


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