Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Bush's State of the Union Address
If I was his speechwriter
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of congress, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, I come before you tonight, as law and tradition warrants, to give an accounting of the state of affairs of our nation. In all due candor, I have to report that the state of the union is fairly bleak!
Regardless of how the nation may be faring otherwise, there is a pall which hangs over us like a dark cloud, portending ominous prospects for our future.
I speak of the Iraq War, which hangs over the nation like a set of weights around a runner's neck, incessantly, increasingly sapping the energy away! No individual - or nation, for that matter - can long endure under such crushing pressure!
Let me state unequivocally that I am ultimately responsible for leading our nation into this quagmire. Howevermuch it might have been the case that I listened to bad counsel, I was the decider, who must be held to account!
Yes, I agree with the so-called NeoCons, who are now tripping over themselves to point out how terrible a job I did in executing their grandiose schemes. My only retort is that it was a dumb idea in the first place! To think that our nation could impose democracy on a foreign country through the barrel of a gun - how preposterous!
Had I been more thoughtful, reflective and inquisitive, I would have realized the folly of their idiotic plans! Alas, I accept my shortcomings of acting without thinking a problem through to its logical ramifications!
As things stand now, we are a nation divided. The shadow of Vietnam looms ever larger over the horizon. This Iraq debacle reminds us - and me, more specifically - that we have not learned the lessons which history has to teach us. The Soviet experience in Afghanistan, as well as our own in Vietnam, should have given us pause to consider how inspired a people will fight against and resist those whom they perceive to be foreign invaders!
How I wish that I could turn back the clock to the point where I diverted our military resources out of Afghanistan into Iraq! How different might things be now!
At the present, we find ourselves bogged down in what appears to be an intractable situation with no good outcome. Our military is stretched to the breaking point. Our enemies, as well as our allies, know that we are a weakened nation, unable to respond to other conflagrations around the globe which might should demand our attention and leadership - like Darfur, etc. Likewise, countries like Iran and North Korea realize that they may pursue their nuclear aims without fear of military reprisal for any threat - real or delusional on my part - which they may pose to our national security!
My phrasing of our struggle as a 'War on Terror' has cast it negatively in the image of being a modern-day crusade against the religion of Islam! From all indications, this is how the muslim nations collectively view our struggle. The degree of animosity and prejudice this phraseology has generated towards their religion appears to substantiate their reaction!
Additionally, our one-sided policy in favor of Israel vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the crux of how unfavorably the Arab nations view us. The fact that we are not perceived as an honest broker - because we in fact are not - doesn't lend help towards ameliorating the situation. I can no longer deny the obvious: there can be no ultimate peace or security in the Middle East without a just and equitable resolution of the claims of all parties involved!
Israel has gotten to learn that it takes a lesser expenditure of energy in terms of its nation's military and economic resources to maintain a state of peace with its neighbors as opposed to a state of war! Treating the inhabitants of its occupied territories with the dignity human beings demand would go a long way towards lessening the animosity and hatred which its inhabitants harbor!
What Israel did in Lebanon was unconscionable! She deliberately targeted civilians - including women and childern - with her bombs, as well as intentionally destroyed the infrastructure of southern Lebonon in the hopes of causing the populance to turn against Hezbollah! Shame on us - me, more specifically - to have acted as an accomplice! It was our bombs, our planes - via the military aid procurement process - which bombarded Lebanon! To think that I had the nerve to send Condi to the region while giving Israel the green light to continue bombing, is it any wonder that she was rebuffed by Lebanon's prime minister?
There has gotten to be a paradigm shift in our relationship with Israel. We can not forever be the dog's tail on that nation, with her tacit understanding that the United States is bound to support whatever action she takes in relation to her neighbors. We need to disengage ourselves from the notion that our nation's fate is inextricably bound with her's, in order for her to realize that she has gotten to be held more accountable for her actions!
We may never know how many innocent lives have been lost under the banner of the 'War on Terror'! Every dictator, every despot who is fighting legitimate forces seeking the freedoms which we espouse, can label his or her opponents as 'terrorists' and slaughter them with abandon! Judging from the xenophobia which I have stirred up with this phraseology, our founding fathers would have been labeled as 'terrorists'!
I am afraid that I have unleashed forces which will jeapordize our nation's security for years to come. True, Sadam was a terrible man; however, he did hold the nation together, however fearful the populance! What we have now in Iraq is total anarchy! I will finally acknowledge the obvious: Iraq is in a state of civil war! There appears to be nothing which we can do to forestall the inevitable, a horrendous bloodletting until the populance decides that it has had enough, similar to Lebanon's civil war!
So, the question is do we leave now or linger for an indefinite period of time? Do we sacrifice more of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers to a cause which has an inevitable end?
I ask you, my fellow Americans, to help me put the welfare of the nation above my own selfish motives! Yes, I would love to salvage my legacy, which is the reason for this surge - one last hurrah! Alas, it appears increasingly obvious that this feeble effort will have no meaningful impact, except to expose more of our soldiers to the possibility of losing their lives!
So, my fellow Americans, I call upon you to save me from myself! I call upon you to rise up and let me know in no uncertain terms that you have had enough of this madness! I call upon youto petition congress enough to cause its members to find their backbones and oppose me towards bringing an end to this folly! Truth be told, I am looking for a graceful exit out of this mess as much as you are!
I am afraid that the democrats appear not to have the will to follow through on their mandate. This vote of 2006 was a total repudiation of my policies, particularly my foreign policy, specifically my Iraqi undertaking! Had they the courage of their convictions, their first order of business should have been to announce impeachment hearings against me!
If I were a true patriot, I would do the only honorable thing which might open the door to making this country whole again, regain the respect of countries around the world, and reduce the animosity of the muslim nations against us. I could utter two words which might open the gates to a new dawn of cooperation and restored goodwill towards this nation. Two words uttered might provide us a peaceful path out of this morass. Two words: I resign!
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, members of congress, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans, I come before you tonight, as law and tradition warrants, to give an accounting of the state of affairs of our nation. In all due candor, I have to report that the state of the union is fairly bleak!
Regardless of how the nation may be faring otherwise, there is a pall which hangs over us like a dark cloud, portending ominous prospects for our future.
I speak of the Iraq War, which hangs over the nation like a set of weights around a runner's neck, incessantly, increasingly sapping the energy away! No individual - or nation, for that matter - can long endure under such crushing pressure!
Let me state unequivocally that I am ultimately responsible for leading our nation into this quagmire. Howevermuch it might have been the case that I listened to bad counsel, I was the decider, who must be held to account!
Yes, I agree with the so-called NeoCons, who are now tripping over themselves to point out how terrible a job I did in executing their grandiose schemes. My only retort is that it was a dumb idea in the first place! To think that our nation could impose democracy on a foreign country through the barrel of a gun - how preposterous!
Had I been more thoughtful, reflective and inquisitive, I would have realized the folly of their idiotic plans! Alas, I accept my shortcomings of acting without thinking a problem through to its logical ramifications!
As things stand now, we are a nation divided. The shadow of Vietnam looms ever larger over the horizon. This Iraq debacle reminds us - and me, more specifically - that we have not learned the lessons which history has to teach us. The Soviet experience in Afghanistan, as well as our own in Vietnam, should have given us pause to consider how inspired a people will fight against and resist those whom they perceive to be foreign invaders!
How I wish that I could turn back the clock to the point where I diverted our military resources out of Afghanistan into Iraq! How different might things be now!
At the present, we find ourselves bogged down in what appears to be an intractable situation with no good outcome. Our military is stretched to the breaking point. Our enemies, as well as our allies, know that we are a weakened nation, unable to respond to other conflagrations around the globe which might should demand our attention and leadership - like Darfur, etc. Likewise, countries like Iran and North Korea realize that they may pursue their nuclear aims without fear of military reprisal for any threat - real or delusional on my part - which they may pose to our national security!
My phrasing of our struggle as a 'War on Terror' has cast it negatively in the image of being a modern-day crusade against the religion of Islam! From all indications, this is how the muslim nations collectively view our struggle. The degree of animosity and prejudice this phraseology has generated towards their religion appears to substantiate their reaction!
Additionally, our one-sided policy in favor of Israel vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the crux of how unfavorably the Arab nations view us. The fact that we are not perceived as an honest broker - because we in fact are not - doesn't lend help towards ameliorating the situation. I can no longer deny the obvious: there can be no ultimate peace or security in the Middle East without a just and equitable resolution of the claims of all parties involved!
Israel has gotten to learn that it takes a lesser expenditure of energy in terms of its nation's military and economic resources to maintain a state of peace with its neighbors as opposed to a state of war! Treating the inhabitants of its occupied territories with the dignity human beings demand would go a long way towards lessening the animosity and hatred which its inhabitants harbor!
What Israel did in Lebanon was unconscionable! She deliberately targeted civilians - including women and childern - with her bombs, as well as intentionally destroyed the infrastructure of southern Lebonon in the hopes of causing the populance to turn against Hezbollah! Shame on us - me, more specifically - to have acted as an accomplice! It was our bombs, our planes - via the military aid procurement process - which bombarded Lebanon! To think that I had the nerve to send Condi to the region while giving Israel the green light to continue bombing, is it any wonder that she was rebuffed by Lebanon's prime minister?
There has gotten to be a paradigm shift in our relationship with Israel. We can not forever be the dog's tail on that nation, with her tacit understanding that the United States is bound to support whatever action she takes in relation to her neighbors. We need to disengage ourselves from the notion that our nation's fate is inextricably bound with her's, in order for her to realize that she has gotten to be held more accountable for her actions!
We may never know how many innocent lives have been lost under the banner of the 'War on Terror'! Every dictator, every despot who is fighting legitimate forces seeking the freedoms which we espouse, can label his or her opponents as 'terrorists' and slaughter them with abandon! Judging from the xenophobia which I have stirred up with this phraseology, our founding fathers would have been labeled as 'terrorists'!
I am afraid that I have unleashed forces which will jeapordize our nation's security for years to come. True, Sadam was a terrible man; however, he did hold the nation together, however fearful the populance! What we have now in Iraq is total anarchy! I will finally acknowledge the obvious: Iraq is in a state of civil war! There appears to be nothing which we can do to forestall the inevitable, a horrendous bloodletting until the populance decides that it has had enough, similar to Lebanon's civil war!
So, the question is do we leave now or linger for an indefinite period of time? Do we sacrifice more of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers to a cause which has an inevitable end?
I ask you, my fellow Americans, to help me put the welfare of the nation above my own selfish motives! Yes, I would love to salvage my legacy, which is the reason for this surge - one last hurrah! Alas, it appears increasingly obvious that this feeble effort will have no meaningful impact, except to expose more of our soldiers to the possibility of losing their lives!
So, my fellow Americans, I call upon you to save me from myself! I call upon you to rise up and let me know in no uncertain terms that you have had enough of this madness! I call upon youto petition congress enough to cause its members to find their backbones and oppose me towards bringing an end to this folly! Truth be told, I am looking for a graceful exit out of this mess as much as you are!
I am afraid that the democrats appear not to have the will to follow through on their mandate. This vote of 2006 was a total repudiation of my policies, particularly my foreign policy, specifically my Iraqi undertaking! Had they the courage of their convictions, their first order of business should have been to announce impeachment hearings against me!
If I were a true patriot, I would do the only honorable thing which might open the door to making this country whole again, regain the respect of countries around the world, and reduce the animosity of the muslim nations against us. I could utter two words which might open the gates to a new dawn of cooperation and restored goodwill towards this nation. Two words uttered might provide us a peaceful path out of this morass. Two words: I resign!
