Facing The Nation

George Bush faced the nation tonight and I'm not sure how my fellow Americans have reacted, for the most part, but I wasn't impressed. Much of his speech, particularly the first few paragraphs, gave off the impression that he still confuses Saddam Hussein with Osama bin Laden. That may just be me nitpicking, but everytime he remarks, "We're taking the fight to the enemy because we were hit on Nine Eleven" I wonder if he realizes that the al-Qaeda threat and the Iraq threat were very different threats. Each real, of course, but neither was quite like the other.

Before the dissection and analysis begins, I retract my support of Senator Kerry's plan from earlier. I am flip-flopping. I do believe he makes many great points, but I don't agree with a timetable for withdrawal. Bush is absolutely making the right decision by refusing to set a timetable for leaving. Here's my first real complaint with his speech: Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of peace and freedom. For the most part, the insurgency is local in Iraq, according to our military a couple of months ago. It's mainly locals who are frustrated with the occupation and who resent America, with some foreign Islamofascists thrown in. For the most part, the Islamofascists are the ones blowing themselves up while locals take out their arms and fire on our convoys and soldiers.

In discussing the reconstruction of Iraq and the pace at which it is going on, the President had this to say:

We're improving roads and schools and health clinics. We're working to improve basic services like sanitation, electricity, and water. And together with our allies, we'll help the new Iraqi government deliver a better life for its citizens. In the past year, the international community has stepped forward with vital assistance. Some 30 nations have troops in Iraq, and many others are contributing non-military assistance. The United Nations is in Iraq to help Iraqis write a constitution and conduct their next elections. Thus far, some 40 countries and three international organizations have pledged about $34 billion in assistance for Iraqi reconstruction. More than 80 countries and international organizations recently came together in Brussels to coordinate their efforts to help Iraqis provide for their security and rebuild their country. And next month, donor countries will meet in Jordan to support Iraqi reconstruction.

If the President wants to be able to leave Iraq with a decent infrastructure, he will have to fire Halliburton. With the money that he'd be saving, and newfound competence that he'd be employing, our progress in Iraq would become much more much sooner. Look at today's news on Halliburton and I defy you to disagree with a straight face.

Bush listed three news steps the United States will take in Iraq to defeat the Insurgency:

First, we are partnering coalition units with Iraqi units. These coalition-Iraqi teams are conducting operations together in the field. These combined operations are giving Iraqis a chance to experience how the most professional armed forces in the world operate in combat.

Second, we are embedding coalition "transition teams" inside Iraqi units. These teams are made up of coalition officers and non-commissioned officers who live, work, and fight together with their Iraqi comrades. Under U.S. command, they are providing battlefield advice and assistance to Iraqi forces during combat operations. Between battles, they are assisting the Iraqis with important skills, such as urban combat, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance techniques.

Third, we're working with the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate anti-terrorist operations. We're helping them develop command and control structures. We're also providing them with civilian and military leadership training, so Iraq's new leaders can effectively manage their forces in the fight against terror.

My first question is, naturally, just why in the hell are these steps being taken now? Why weren't they taken much sooner? The first and second ones are such "no-duh" steps that I am floored at the military's failure to take them much sooner. The same goes for the third one. Bush declared in his speech that he will not send more troops to Iraq unless advised to by the Pentagon, and his reasoning is that we can't escalate our troop levels because that would give credibility to the charges of endless occupation and imperialism and would be a blow to the Iraqi government, something that I agree with. Of course, we should have gone into Iraq with a larger number of soldiers but at this point that's water under the bridge. Fight them with the army we have, not the one we should have had.

In this time of testing, our troops can know: The American people are behind you. Next week, our nation has an opportunity to make sure that support is felt by every soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman, and Marine at every outpost across the world. This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom -- by flying the flag, sending a letter to our troops in the field, or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a website -- AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about private efforts in your own community. At this time when we celebrate our freedom, let us stand with the men and women who defend us all.

Here, Bush should have called on Americans to enlist in the military and engage the enemy in Iraq. He should have spoken at length about our current enlistment problems and then asked for Americans to sign up. I'm sure it would boost the military's recruiting numbers significantly if he did, but he just can't bring himself to ask Americans to sacrifice, unless it's their money at Sears. The closest he came to asking Americans to sacrifice was this: "And to those watching tonight who are considering a military career, there is no higher calling than service in our Armed Forces." Which, of course, isn't enough.

You've got to fight your war with the President you have, not the one you wish you had.