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| Bush to focus on Iraq in 2006 |
| 2006-01-02 |
| President Bush's first official act of the new year was pinning Purple Hearts on U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq, a signal that for the White House, 2006 would be another year dominated by the war. The president gave the military award to nine soldiers during a private session Sunday morning with veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and some family members at the Brooke Army Medical Center. The soldiers were among an estimated 2,300 wounded service members treated there since the beginning of military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Bush took note of their plight as he restated his reasons for fighting the Iraq war. "There's horrible consequences to war — that's what you see in this building," the president said after the hospital visit. "On the other hand, we also see (soldiers) who say, 'I'd like to go back in, Mr. President, what we're doing is the right thing,' because many of these troops understand that by defeating the enemy there, we don't have to face them here. And they understand that by helping the country and the Middle East become a democracy, we are, in fact, laying the foundation for future peace." It was Bush's 34th meeting with wounded troops, the White House said. "I am resolved to make sure that these kids who are recovering here, that have suffered terrible injury, that their injuries are not in vain by completing the mission and laying that foundation for peace for generations to come," Bush remarked Sunday. "And I'm optimistic we'll achieve that objective." Bush's visit to the medical center began a week filled with events related to Iraq or the war on terror. The president plans to meet with key advisers to form a strategy intended to get an indefinite extension of provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act, which was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to expand the government's powers against terrorism. After a last-minute congressional deal signed by Bush on Friday, the act will expire in five weeks. Bush will travel to the Pentagon on Wednesday and make a statement about the war. The next day he will meet with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, along with people who held those positions in the past, to talk about "our challenges in Iraq and winning the war in Iraq," according to a spokesman. Also in the year's first week, Bush may be meeting with Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of Central Command and the top military official overseeing Iraq and Afghanistan, an official said. The opening week fits with Bush's public New Year's resolution, which began with the words, "To continue to work tirelessly for peace abroad." The energetic focus on the war comes at a time when, despite a slight recovery in the last quarter of 2005, Bush is still trying to convince a majority of Americans that the war in Iraq is worth the price in American lives. Bush's public approval rating dipped below 40 percent at times in 2005 and rose to 47 percent in an ABC News/Washington Post poll taken after a Dec. 15 election in Iraq. Many surveyed remain skeptical about the war, in which about 2,100 Americans and 30,000 Iraqis have died at year's end. Roughly half the people polled by CNN/USA Today recently said it was a mistake to ever send troops to Iraq. Bush confronted the issue in his end-of-year radio address Saturday. "As we help Iraq build a peaceful and stable democracy, the United States will gain an ally in the war on terror, inspire reformers across the Middle East and make the American people more secure," he said. Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi, of California, did not mention the war in her party's response, except to wish safety for military personnel. Instead, she outlined domestic proposals she said Democrats will push in the coming year. Her message appeared to be a shift from leading Democrats' strong criticism of the war before the Iraqi election. After meeting with wounded personnel, Bush joked about what he termed his own injury in combat — from a encounter with a tree on his Crawford ranch. "As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself — not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won," he said. "The cedar gave me a little scratch. As a matter of fact, (a) colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, colonel." Asked by a reporter what he would say to an injured soldier about how a loving God could permit or cause some war injuries, the president answered in part: "I think we see God's work here every day. I think when you find nurses and doctors who work around the clock, who come in at a moment's notice to save a life, I happen to believe there's a lot of divine inspiration to that kind of dedication and work. The parents I saw or the wives I saw, many of them were in prayer on a regular basis for their loved one." Bush also defended again his authorization of an anti-terror eavesdropping program without search warrants. "It's seems logical to me that if we know there's a phone number associated with al-Qaida or an al-Qaida affiliate and they're making phone calls, it makes sense to find out why," Bush said. "They attacked us before, they'll attack us again." Asked how he responds to Americans worried about violations of their privacy, Bush responded, "If somebody from al-Qaida is calling you, we'd like to know why." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 "Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi, of California, did not mention the war in her party's response, except to wish safety for military personnel." Sometimes it's hard to guage which direction the wind is blowing when your thumb is inserted firmly up your ass. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-01-02 14:39 |
| #2 Asked how he responds to Americans worried about violations of their privacy, Bush responded, "If somebody from al-Qaida is calling you, we'd like to know why." While I think that the chance of liberal democracy (or at least some form of civil society) in Iraq is slightly less than the chance of my wife's cats mastering calculus---you gotta admire the guy's way with words. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-01-02 12:00 |
| #1 "a signal that for the White House, 2006 would be another year dominated by the war" Golly... That he would be derelict in his duty as CinC if he didn't maintain focus in a time of war seems to be some sort of an indictment from this Moonbat rag's editorial perspective. This mish-mash was (literally, I'm sure) thrown together with less care than your average 'D' Student's Freshman English assignment. Yo, Chronicle, you folks should all get yourselves a Drano IV, stat. Please consider my suggestion value-added analysis. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-01-02 05:37 |