WASHINGTON – President Bush says he has no doubts about launching the unpopular war in Iraq despite the “high cost in lives and treasure,” arguing that retreat now would embolden Iran and provide al-Qaida with money for weapons of mass destruction to attack the United States.
Bush is to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on Wednesday with a speech at the Pentagon. Excerpts of his address were released Tuesday night by the White House.
At least 3,990 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003. It has cost taxpayers about $500 billion and estimates of the final tab run far higher. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard University public finance expert Linda Bilmes have estimated the eventual cost at $3 trillion when all the expenses, including long-term care for veterans, are calculated.
Democrats offered a different view from Bush’s.
“On this grim milestone, it is worth remembering how we got into this situation, and thinking about how best we can get out,” said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. “The tasks that remain in Iraq — to bring an end to sectarian conflict, to devise a way to share political power, and to create a functioning government that is capable of providing for the needs of the Iraqi people are tasks that only the Iraqis can complete.”
In his remarks, Bush repeated his oft-stated determination to prosecute the war into the unforeseen future.
Full Story Here:
Bush says Iraq war was worth it
George W. Bush (M) is a fool, the (M) stands for moron…
Until WE went to Iraq there was NO insurgency, Saddam didn’t allow anyone to stand against him, the only terrorist that threatened Iraq was Saddam Hussein himself and his terror was directed against his own people, NOT towards the USA, Saddam was NOT connected to al-Qaida or the attacks of 9-11, Iraq was NOT a part of the War on Terror until Bush made them a part of it, that has been thoroughly researched, proven and reported by numerous studies and surveys conducted by our own Congress and the Department of Defense, yet the Bush Bots say those reports are lies as they make their pathetic little stand in defense of The Bush…
Our mission in Iraq had nothing to do with Iraqi Freedom, that was a modified mission definition brought into play after Bush and Company crapped out on the WMD lie, the Iraqi Freedom thing was born when mission definitions began to take on new directions on an almost daily basis as Bush attempted to justify his actions, ‘We must stay the course’ immediately comes to mind for me…
We went to war in Iraq because George W. Bush claimed that Saddam had weapons that could threaten the USA, when the truth of the matter was this, Saddam had nothing that was threatening to anything more than his own nation and possibly a few others in his region of the world, and quite frankly, if others felt threatened, shouldn’t they have been the ones to address the threat??
The only thing that has been found to date that could have been even remotely threatening was some .155MM howitzer rounds that were loaded with Sarin, aka GB, a nerve agent that was so depleted that it could have been poured directly on the skin with NO harm to the human body, Sarin that was so useless that it would have to have been ingested to cause ANY harm, that was the WMD we went to war over, that was the WMD that we have lost so many lives over, that was the WMD that has nearly ruined the American economy…
To call the Debacle in Iraq a success is as desperate an act of attempted self vindication as is likely to be heard, Iraq has all but bankrupt the United States and has cost us the lives of almost 4,000 fine young men and women, and it’s now, as of today, taken 5 years to get to this point, and still, there is NO end in sight…
As we mark the 5th anniversary of our Debacle in Iraq, remember this little snippet of fact, we were directly involved in WWII for 3 years and 8 months, and we WON that one, a WORLD WAR, against awesome odds, yet here we are, still fighting in a nation that’s approximately the size of the state of Texas, led by a Moron in Chief, a leader that calls the war a success…
Let me put this as plainly as possible, in terms so easily understood that even the most dense of the Bots can grasp it’s meaning, IF George W. Bush had been president in 1941, we’d ALL be speaking Japanese or German right now, because if this Debacle in Iraq is what Bush calls a success, I would surely hate to see what he calls a failure…
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To the ‘French journalist’ that wants to do an interview and wants ME to send HIM my phone number…
You have GOT to be shitting me!!
Send him my home phone number…
None of this crop are appealing to me at all.
Tom Tancredo for President!
It is clear you and I have a vastly different opinion on this war. We both agree that the WAY it has been fought, especially in the past is not to our liking, but to deny it was a logical front on the WOT is rather disingenuous.
Saddam WAS brutally killing Iraqi people by the thousands. He was actively allowing terrorism training to occur on his land. He fired in the no fly zone. Ignored inspectors, and paid suicide bombers to kill when they can.
We had been fighting with Iraqi soldiers in Somalia and elsewhere for well over a decade.
“Does America realize the meaning of every Iraqi becoming a missile that can cross to countries and cities?” Saddam Hussein, September 29, 1994
“Our striking arm will reach America, Britain and Saudi Arabia before they know what hit them.” Al-Qadisiyah, October 6, 1994(Saddam’s state run paper)
From the 9/11 commission report:
“….the major terrorist strikes against the U.S. that were attributed to “loose networks” of Islamic militants, including al Qaeda, are much better explained as Iraq, working with and hiding behind the militants. In short, the 1991 Gulf War did not end with the cease-fire declared back then.”
Oh, and I think Ron Paul is the devil and Obama is his handmaiden.
Jenn, even the best of friends disagree from time to time…Â
You need some sources for the Somalia thing, and any other statements that aren’t openly stated as opinion…
Here’s some folks that say Iraq wasn’t involved in 9-11, maybe you can convince THEM otherwise…
Wolfowitz: Iraq Not Involved in 9-11, No Ties to al-Qaeda
“We have no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 11 September attacks,” Mr Bush told reporters as he met members of Congress on energy legislation.
Bush: No Iraq link to 9/11 found
How much do you want??
And for what it’s worth, I have pissed off more than a few people by saying this, but I don’t give a good goddamn what Saddam did to the Iraqis, if they had fought Saddam as hard as they have fought US, Saddam would have been deposed long ago…
Jenn,
Where do you think the leadership of al-Qaeda is? Remember them?
Where do you think they are right now planning, and training?
They never have been nor will they ever be in Iraq. Good thing this Bush fellow isn’t after Hitler, he’d be having a meal about now somewhere in Florida, while Bush is fighting a war against him in Canada.
Iraq, wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.
Can you imagine Bush being in charge of finding the people that kidnapped your child?
Goodbye Mike, I warned ya about the Paul thing, now you can go tell ALL of your readers what a dickhead I am…
WOW, a great article again Fred.
I am sorry that several ppl might disagree with you and others but you hit it on the nail with this one.
Keep it up my friend.
Sage
I reckon whether or not it was right or wrong to take out Hussein and his thugs is not the question now..it is do we pull up our pants and come home or fight this shit to we win..
If we do in fact pull out without leaving a stable Iraqi government and military there will be a bigger vacuum than Monica’s mouth..and it will be filled by Iran and there is gonna be a bunch of dead Iraqis. Now I don’t really give a shit about dead ragheads of any type..Iraqis or otherwise..but I do care about the fucking Iranians controlling the crude oil supply from the middle east.
This war is about oil..not about the USA taking it and producing it but trying to insure that the Iranians don’t get it and that Hussein was never onna be able to use it to help control oil prices.
My biggest bitch is not about the war but about the way it has been run..I still contend the best bet right now is to keep the lid on it until we can build a big enough army to go in and take it..desolve the joke of an Iraqi government, set up a military governor general much as we did in Japan, disarm the country and shoot every sumbitch seen with a weapon that is not in uniform and a bunch that are.
Hang all the gotdam radical mullahs that open their mouths. Shut down the Islamic schools and open secular schools and make them mandatory..hell bring in American teachers if we have to.
Develop the know crude oil reserves and put the crude on line to pay for all of this and maybe, just maybe with about fifteen or twenty years of dead mullahs and secular education the majority of young Iraqis will be de-brainwashed out of Islam and brainwashed into secularism with some similar values to the western world..values that will enable them to establish, maintain, and protect a government of free Iraqis..
Or, fuck ‘em. Make a deal with Iran to take over Iraq and sell us the crude at a discount. Then make Tehran into a smoldering pile of radio active sand if they renege on the deal
Guy hit it on the head, fight and win or get the hell out…
How simple can it be?? That was the logical solution, during the immediate aftermath of the war, we WON the war and totally screwed up what should have been the peace…
GUYK is exactly right. When you go to war, you unleash the dogs but Bush quickly put the leashes back on once we got into Baghdad.
I watched on the History Channel how US Troops cleaned out Nazi Insurgents after WWII ended. If they had them trapped in a building they offered them only one chance to surrender. If the failed to surrender and our troops had to go in, not one insurgent came out alive. The only option was surrender or die.
Today, Islamist Insurgents hole up in a Mosque and they can fire upon US Troops at will because our troops are ordered not to return fire at the Mosque because it will offend Muslims.
Yeah but Bob & Guy, Bush is more worried about political correctness and his legacy than he was with winning…
Even during the 1st attack 5 years ago, I wasn’t convinced that Iraq was the right place to go but even so, the mission was ordered, had the mission been carried through to a definitive conclusion and had Iraq been administered in much the same way as Japan and Germany after WWII, Bush would have come out looking like a genius, but he insisted that Iraq be almost immediately turned back over to the Iraqis and a newly elected administration that was all but powerless, an empty suit in it’s truest definition, and look at where we are now, and barring some miracle, will be for generations to come…
I have to wonder, with approximately 70% of this nation in solid opposition to the Iraq debacle, how much longer will the American people allow this to happen?? If I was John McCain and I wanted to be POTUS, I’d be singing a different tune concerning Iraq, as opposed to riding the coat tails of The Bush and his worn out, no war fighting capability…