The President’s Iraq Speech

by Tina Grazier

President George W. Bush said that liberty was not unique to America but was instead “God’s gift to humanity.”

He strongly believed in spreading freedom across the world. He saw that growing terrorist activity was a great threat to liberty around the world. He noted that free nations do not make war against free nations. He governed and made decisions based on the notion that freedom established in a nation acts as a deterrent to those who would be tyrants using oppression and violence. Whether you agree with this premise or not, it’s difficult to argue that the man we elected twice to the oval office was not committed to his vision. He stood committed and centered against incredible criticism by enemies both foreign and domestic.

I too believe in spreading freedom around the world. This can be done using many tools including, as a last resort, going to war. Because I believe freedom is God’s gift I appreciate some of the comments from President Obama’s speech on Tuesday night. These remarks were somewhat surprising given the vitriolic, unsupportive public remarks made by Obama and others when George Bush was president and faced with the stresses and responsibilities of commander-and-chief .

Tuesday night President Obama (unwittingly?) acknowledged the unseemliness of his past remarks against George Bush. His error was not that he desagreed with the president, that was his right, but the error was in the timing, the tone and the political motivation that colored his remarks. We can disagree about Bush’s decision or how we should approach this problem going forward but we would be wise to remain mindful of the threat that remains, and will remain, for an undetermined amount of time into the future. We would be wise to be mindful too, that the contribution our military has made to many in the Middle East who also believe in freedom is immeasurable.

The following are the remarks I appreciate in the President’sspeech:

“This milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment,”

This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W. Bush. It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one can doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security.”

“Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq’s future is not.”

“…next August, we will begin a transition to Afghan responsibility. The pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground, and our support for Afghanistan will endure.”

“…with an unbroken line of heroes that stretches from Lexington to Gettysburg; from Iwo Jima to Inchon; from Khe Sanh to Kandahar.”

“…as the leader of the free world, America will do more than just defeat on the battlefield those who offer hatred and destruction — we will also lead among those who are willing to work together to expand freedom and opportunity for all people,”

“…we must use all elements of our power — including our diplomacy, our economic strength and the power of America’s example — to secure our interests and stand by our allies,”

“we must project a vision of the future that is based not just on our fears, but also on our hopes — a vision that recognizes the real dangers that exist around the world, but also the limitless possibility of our time,”

These words reflect the same commitment that GWB made when he said in 2003:

“For a generation leading up to September the 11th, 2001, terrorists and their radical allies attacked innocent people in the Middle East and beyond, without facing a sustained and serious response. The terrorists became convinced that free nations were decadent and weak. And they grew bolder, believing that history was on their side. Since America put out the fires of September the 11th, and mourned our dead, and went to war, history has taken a different turn. We have carried the fight to the enemy. We are rolling back the terrorist threat to civilization, not on the fringes of its influence, but at the heart of its power.

This work continues. In Iraq, we are helping the long suffering people of that country to build a decent and democratic society at the center of the Middle East. Together we are transforming a place of torture chambers and mass graves into a nation of laws and free institutions. This undertaking is difficult and costly — yet worthy of our country, and critical to our security.

Actions speak louder than words. President Obama hasn’t been unwilling to back off of his position that the Iraq war was a mistake but by adopting his predecessors basic war plans and leadership he has affirmed the success of the surge and offered reluctant commitment to the success of the Iraqi people and the need to finish our work there. By adopting and expanding upon the efforts in Afghanistan he has given creedance to the part that war will play in the defeat of freedom’s enemies.

Until Tuesday night the President has been unwilling to give credit to his predecessor for those things we have accomplished and, indeed, has continued to make demeaning remarks toward George Bush over the past two years. For this reason I have difficulty accepting these positive remarks as genuine rather than political. This is a moment in history when Democrats seem to be losing support across all political parties so we cannot leave out the piossibility he did this for himself and his party. I hope I’m wrong about that; our troops deserve more from their Commander-in-Chief and so do the American people.