Last night I sat down in front of the television. I grabbed a drink and a snack and I fully planned to listen to the President's 9/11 Address. I was hoping for some sort of insight into where the government was looking five years after the attack on the World Trade Center. I felt that it was Bush's big chance to call for unity...his big chance to honor the heroes of the tragedy. Anyone who has been reading my blog knows that I'm not a big fan of George but I've really been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.
So I sat down with my iced tea and pretzels. I was about 10 minutes late for the beginning of the speech so I had no idea what to expect. But when I turned on the TV I immediately felt annoyed. The first words I heard coming from my speakers were "Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone."
I have to admit, I was angry. I felt like Bush was using an opportunity to pay tribute to the 9/11 folks and he was wasting it grandstanding for Iraq. He was STILL attempting to justify his foreign policy. I was disappointed.
Now, I don't claim to be a Democrat or a Republican. I've always tried to follow the best man for the job. But I have to say (not without a slight cringe) that the Democrats got it right on their outrage of last night's speech.
"The president should be ashamed of using a national day of mourning to commandeer the airwaves to give a speech that was designed not to unite the country and commemorate the fallen but to seek support for a war in Iraq that he has admitted had nothing to do with 9/11," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
"America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over. So do I," Bush said. "But the war is not over, and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious."
Again...inserting opinion here...argue if you like: I believe the idea that we can wage war on terrorism is a foolish one. Plus, if he was such a humanitarian and felt he needed to invade Iraq because Saddam was a bad guy, then why are we not cleaning up other places like North Korea, Phillipines, China, etc. There are other motives at work. There always are.
And the ONE thing i'm sure of above anything else in this article...The War in Iraq is a fruitless battle. Its Viet Nam time four. Its not an issue of defending our country. Its not an issue of defending freedom. Its not even an issue of helping the citizens of Iraq. THEY don't want us there.
Its senseless to me. Completely. I can only hope that history will be able to make some sense of this and not turn the horror of 9/11 into the prequel to the most ignorant move our government has ever made.
posted by Michael Witmer @ Tuesday, September 12, 2006
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