Bush's Stunning Speech

I must say that I was stunned by Bush's speech regarding committing more U.S. troops to Iraq. It was not that I expected a change of course. It was clear that was not going to happen. What was stunning was how frank he actually was.

"The consequences of failure [in Iraq] are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow -- would -- would grow in strength and gain new recruits.

Translation: US actions and failures in Iraq have placed the strongest power in Iraq in the hands of sectarian leaders - not a democratically elected government. Or is he referring to the fact that the increasing anger against the United States, the deaths of civilians; the use of torture and disregard of international law; are effective recruiting points to fight U.S. presence in the Middle East and Asia?

"They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions.

Exactly who is he referring to controlling the "oil revenues"? Bush made clear that privatizing Iraq's oil is critical (discussed below). Who would be a threat to this? "Radical extremists" who might think that Iraq's oil revenue is better controlled by Iraq rather than by corporate oil?

"Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people.

Where exactly is he referring to? Iran, Iraq, or perhaps Afghanistan which he is willing to abandon to pursue his interests in Iraq? Afghanistan, which was the "safe haven" of those purportedly responsible for events of 9/11/01?

"Eighty percent of Iraq's sectarian violence occurs within 30 miles of the capital."

The areas of Sunni population concentration.

"Only Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an aggressive plan to do it."

A government Shi'ite controlled and supported by Shi'ite militias, with police forces reported to be 70-80% militia, which is targeting the Sunnis in what is increasingly seen as potentially genocidal.

"And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work."

Does mean that whatever faltering controls have been in place to protect a civilian population are to be removed?

"Now, let me explain the main elements of this effort: The Iraqi government will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police brigades across Baghdad's nine districts. When these forces are fully deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades committed to this effort -- along with local police. These Iraqi forces will operate from local police stations -- conducting patrols and setting up checkpoints and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents.

This is a strong commitment. But for it to succeed, our commanders say the Iraqis will need our help. So America will change our strategy to help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence and bring security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American force levels. So I have committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. The vast majority of them, five brigades, will be deployed to Baghdad. These troops will work alongside Iraqi units and be embedded in their formations. Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs. "

U.S. troops are:
1) going to be put under the command of Iraqi commanders;
2) they are to be embedded with forces that are largely militia members - not government forces;
3) they will operate out of those places which have already been a primary focus of random attacks, one of the most dangerous locations in Iraq, police stations;
4) they will take a no holds barred approach to smashing (whoever the "enemy" is here) by going house to house in Baghdad - a strategy sure to win hearts and minds.

What seems to be an intimation of massive and persistent suppression will inspire "Iraqi's" (Shi'ites?) to "trust" their government. Or perhaps to be as afraid of their "democratically" elected government as they were of the swift and brutal control of Saddam Hussein.

"Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.

We are also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand intelligence sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region."

We are mobilizing for military conflict with Iran and Syria.

"We endorse the Iraqi government's call to finalize an International Compact that will bring new economic assistance in exchange for greater economic reform."

Get those PSAs signed and in place. See Troop Surges and Bloody Oil or Iraq poised to end drought for thirsting oil giants. In other words, we must hold the Iraqi government together and in power until at least March of 2007.

"We go forward with trust that the Author of Liberty will guide us through these trying hours."

I presume that this is another appeal to Bush's fundamentalist base. I presume that the "Author of Liberty" is "God." I must say that this is chilling that the President of the United States is using "Christian" religious fundamentalism to frame a what he defines as an "Islamic" fundamentalist threat in an apocalyptic "decisive ideological struggle of our time. A field of carnage that he and his created.

Posted by rowan at January 11, 2007 5:50 PM | [eMail this article!] |