I know you’re probably tired of hearing comment about the State of the Union address. Well, too bad, I want my say. heh.

President Bush made some strong comments during his address. Some I agree with, some I disagree with. I want to take a few minutes and break down portions of his speech, and give me comments and thoughts. Let’s get started:

On September the 11th, 2001, we found that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to our country.

The President does not mention to which country he was referring. It is possible he could have been referring to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, even Saudi Arabi. I’ll give you three guesses which of those immediately popped into my head when I heard his statement. Yes, Iraq. I’d wager that the vast majority of the people listening to (or reading the transcript of) his speech thought the same thing. I find it amusing, especially since Iraq’s involvement in the attacks on September 11th has never been concretely proven. For that matter, it hasn’t even been limply proven. It’s much like the penis of a bodybuilder… Supposedly it’s there, and supposedly it’s quite concrete… but what if that body builder has been on steroids? I would have much preferred he picked a specific country - or even the general area - to point out, instead of leaving us to guess and make penis jokes.

In fact, I’m seeing a running theme in that sentence… Let’s check the past years, shall we?

2006: (the above, plus:) “It is said that prior to the attacks of September the 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy.”

2005: ” In the three and a half years since September the 11th, 2001, we have taken unprecedented actions to protect Americans.”

2004: “Twenty-eight months have passed since September 11th, 2001 — over two years without an attack on American soil. And it is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting — and false. The killing has continued in Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Mombasa, Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Baghdad. The terrorists continue to plot against America and the civilized world. And by our will and courage, this danger will be defeated.”
…
“Last March, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a mastermind of September the 11th, awoke to find himself in the custody of U.S. and Pakistani authorities.”
…
“After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers.”

2003: “To date we have arrested, or otherwise dealt with, many key commanders of al-Qaida. They include a man who directed logistics and funding for the September 11th attacks…”
…
“Since September 11th, our intelligence and law enforcement agencies have worked more closely than ever to track and disrupt the terrorists.”
…
“Before September 11, 2001, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents and lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained.” (Especially when they’re invisible. That sneaky Saddam! (Okay, yes, they found evidence Saddam was attempting to manufacture chemical weapons. No evidence he ever succeeded, but yes, he was making an attempt.))

2002: ” What we have found in Afghanistan confirms that, far from ending there, our war against terror is only beginning. Most of the 19 men who hijacked planes on September the 11th were trained in Afghanistan’s camps, and so were tens of thousands of others.”
…
” Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. Some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since September the 11th. But we know their true nature. North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.”
…
” September the 11th brought out the best in America, and the best in this Congress. And I join the American people in applauding your unity and resolve. (Applause.) Now Americans deserve to have this same spirit directed toward addressing problems here at home. I’m a proud member of my party — yet as we act to win the war, protect our people, and create jobs in America, we must act, first and foremost, not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but as Americans. (Applause)” (*cough* How quickly they forget.)
…
” The next priority of my budget is to do everything possible to protect our citizens and strengthen our nation against the ongoing threat of another attack. Time and distance from the events of September the 11th will not make us safer unless we act on its lessons. America is no longer protected by vast oceans. We are protected from attack only by vigorous action abroad, and increased vigilance at home.”
…
” None of us would ever wish the evil that was done on September the 11th. Yet after America was attacked, it was as if our entire country looked into a mirror and saw our better selves. We were reminded that we are citizens, with obligations to each other, to our country, and to history. We began to think less of the goods we can accumulate, and more about the good we can do.
For too long our culture has said, ‘If it feels good, do it.’ Now America is embracing a new ethic and a new creed: ‘Let’s roll.’” (Uh, WHAT?!)

Gee. I’m noticing a trend.

Back to the commentary on the address:

Dictatorships shelter terrorists, and feed resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction.

Hmmm… Nice generalization. Veeeery nice generalization. You know, my girlfriend got on me, the other day (and rightfully so), for generalizing people as not caring about history. It makes me wonder how all of the dictators in the world would feel if they heard this little sentence. See, folks, the only difference between a monarchy (true monarchy.. Not that pseudo-democratic British version) and a dictatorship is who’s talking about it.

Again, yes, I’m aware that the term “dictatorship” primarily makes people think of things like Saddam’s Iraq, Milosevic’s reign, etc… But, there are just as many people out there that believe that any body politic ruled by a single person - no matter how benevolent - is a dictatorship, and should be brought down. It’s unfortunate generalizations that help to foster this belief.

Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbors, and join the fight against terror.

Hmmm… Again, generalization. I particularly like the “respect the rights of their citizens” portion. Especially since Bush violated FISA. (I’m not saying he didn’t have the right to do so. That remains to be seen. But in my mind… well, my proclivities on personal privacy are well known in certain circles. I’ll make them known here, when I get around to that entry.)

Oh, and the “…join the fight against terror” portion? Hmmm.. Someone count the number of democracies that have joined us in the fight against terror, and then count the number of democracies that have not joined us in the fight against terror. I’m wagering more have not joined us, than have. I may be mistaken, though…

Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer — so we will act boldly in freedom’s cause.

Ah, good. This decade needed a cause. In the 90’s, it was health and well being. In the 80’s it was anarchy and preppiness. In the 70’s, it was disco. In the 60’s, it was weed and vietnam. In the 50’s… well, you get the idea.

Far from being a hopeless dream, the advance of freedom is the great story of our time.

Greater than the “Greatest Story Ever Told?” (That would be “The Bible” for those of you who don’t know the term associated with it.)

In 1945, there were about two dozen lonely democracies in the world. Today, there are 122.

Well, of course. That’s what happens when you open up the United Nations first dating service for countries.

And we’re writing a new chapter in the story of self-government — with women lining up to vote in Afghanistan, and millions of Iraqis marking their liberty with purple ink, and men and women from Lebanon to Egypt debating the rights of individuals and the necessity of freedom.

The men and women may be in seperate rooms, and cannot use the same entrance, but at least they’re debating!

At the start of 2006, more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations. And we do not forget the other half — in places like Syria and Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran — because the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom, as well.

Great. We already had North Korea and Iran pissed off at us. Did you have to go and piss off Syria, Burma, and Zimbabwe, too? Hell, just invite them over for tea and crumpets coffee and cake, and give them the map of the best targets to hit.

No one can deny the success of freedom, but some men rage and fight against it.

…Someone show me these men that would rather live under the thumb of an evil dictator than be free. Please. Don’t point to Muslims in other countries, dangit, because we proved with Iraq that they wanted to be free, too.

And one of the main sources of reaction and opposition is radical Islam — the perversion by a few of a noble faith into an ideology of terror and death.

Gosh, Mr. Bush. If your religion said that the things that “Radical Islam” was doing was wrong, wouldn’t you be a little pissed at them, too? Oh… wait.

Terrorists like bin Laden are serious about mass murder…

WHEEEE!!!!! Oh… wait.

and all of us must take their declared intentions seriously. They seek to impose a heartless system of totalitarian control throughout the Middle East, and arm themselves with weapons of mass murder.

I KNEW IT! See, I told you they didn’t really want Weapons of Mass Destruction. They never did! They only wanted weapons of mass murder! (*ahem*it’s-a-new-catchphrase-for-the-same-old-thing*ahem* (however true))

Their aim is to seize power in Iraq, and use it as a safe haven to launch attacks against America and the world.

I have a very stupid question, Mr. President. Why go through all the trouble of seizing power in Iraq - fighting the unified forces, all those casulties and losses of buildings - when they can just go to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia (although we’re supposedly friendly with them), or even hide out in the freaking himilayas, and launch the attacks from there?

Lacking the military strength to challenge us directly, the terrorists have chosen the weapon of fear.

I’m sorry, but I have this image of a random guy dressed up in “traditional Muslim attire”, carrying a toy gun, and jumping out of alleyways going “BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!!” to passing children. I mean, it seems to me like the fear ain’t working so well. Like a good portion of the world is standing up, levelling our rifles, and going, “you gonna do what, biatch?”

I mean, seriously. If someone (I don’t care who. A Muslim, a Christian, a Jew, a Pagan, an Athiest, a purple monkey dishwasher) attacked me and my family, I’d be grabbing the closest thing that looks even remotely like a weapon, and coming after their sorry ass. Oh… wait.

When they murder children at a school in Beslan, or blow up commuters in London, or behead a bound captive, the terrorists hope these horrors will break our will, allowing the violent to inherit the Earth.

…I thought the meek were supposed to inherit the earth. I mean, that’s what the Bible says, isn’t it? Soooo….. if we stand up and fight, and try to squash anything that remotely looks like a terrorist, then we’re not really meek, right? Of course, that entire book is open to interpretation.

In a time of testing, we cannot find security by abandoning our commitments and retreating within our borders.

Funny… You’d think retreating to within our borders, and locking the thing down, would find security. Of course, that’s assuming we’d be able to protect our own damned borders to begin with.

If we were to leave these vicious attackers alone, they would not leave us alone.

Waaaaiiiiittttttttttt a minute, now! We’re assuming that they attacked us because we’re Americans, free, fun-loving, womens-rights-allowing, voting, democratic, Christian, “great satan” Americans. People, please. Get your head out of your ass. We’ve been fighting this thing for more years than you can imagine. Did it all start with Daddy Bush’s little skirmish out there (*ahem* the “Gulf War”)? I sincerely doubt it. We’ve been pissing these people off for a very, very long time. I’m pretty sure that were we to trace it back, we’d find out that it all started because we stuck our nose in something that originally had nothing to do with us, and made it our business. …That’s one of the downfalls of our nation. We can’t leave the rest of the world the hell alone.

By allowing radical Islam to work its will

Fucking radical Islam, it’s all their fault. (Original quote, “Fucking Darwin, it’s all his fault!”)

by leaving an assaulted world to fend for itself — we would signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or even in our own courage.

Some would say it takes more courage to know when to get the hell out, than it does to stand there and shoot at anything that moves and looks different.

But our enemies and our friends can be certain: The United States will not retreat from the world, and we will never surrender to evil.

Until NASA figures out how to move half a continent, it’s pretty hard for the United States to retreat from the world, anyway.

America rejects the false comfort of isolationism.

Personally, I find isolationism quite comforting. I even hooked it up to a lie detector… it was telling the truth.

We are the nation that saved liberty in Europe, and liberated death camps, and helped raise up democracies, and faced down an evil empire.

Yep. That was all us, baby. Noone helped us, not one bit. We did it all ourselves. (I’m sorry, but all I can really say here is… Idiot.)

Once again, we accept the call of history to deliver the oppressed and move this world toward peace.

Someone disconnect the damned phone, already. That bill has to be enormous, at this point.

We remain on the offensive against terror networks. We have killed or captured many of their leaders — and for the others, their day will come.

Unfortunately, at this point in the address, the Presidential Orchestra missed their cue for the thympani drums.

We remain on the offensive in Afghanistan, where a fine President and a National Assembly are fighting terror while building the institutions of a new democracy.

Afghani-wha? Oh, that other place… The one that noone ever mentions, anymore.

We’re on the offensive in Iraq, with a clear plan for victory. First, we’re helping Iraqis build an inclusive government, so that old resentments will be eased and the insurgency will be marginalized.

…We have a clear plan for victory. I’d like to hear this plan. I’d like to hear it laid out in some sort of detail. Unfortunately, we keep being told that we can’t be told what it is, for reasons of national security.

Second, we’re continuing reconstruction efforts, and helping the Iraqi government to fight corruption and build a modern economy, so all Iraqis can experience the benefits of freedom. And, third, we’re striking terrorist targets while we train Iraqi forces that are increasingly capable of defeating the enemy.

…Why not train the Iraqi forces and let them strike the targets. Trust me, when as many of them start dying as us… they’ll learn daaaamned quick.

Our work in Iraq is difficult because our enemy is brutal. But that brutality has not stopped the dramatic progress of a new democracy. In less than three years, the nation has gone from dictatorship to liberation, to sovereignty, to a constitution, to national elections. At the same time, our coalition has been relentless in shutting off terrorist infiltration, clearing out insurgent strongholds, and turning over territory to Iraqi security forces. I am confident in our plan for victory; I am confident in the will of the Iraqi people; I am confident in the skill and spirit of our military. Fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win, and we are winning.

I’ve got to be honest, here. He’s right. As far as Iraq is concerned, we are winning. Personally, I would have preferred we didn’t get quite this militarily involved (i.e. trained up some forces and turned it over to them, damned quick… and started bombing the hell out of anything that put up resistance… get it over fast), but since we are this far down the road… Well, Bush is right, we can’t very well turn around and walk away. We need an exit strategy, and damnit, we need one where we win. Thankfully, we’re winning, now.

A year or two ago, I was very much against the Iraq war. I was very much wanting the troops to come home, as “right now” as possible. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I’m still not happy with the war, but even I can’t help but recognize that we’re too far in it to just turn around and go. I have no clue what the exit strategy is, and I have no clue what the full clear plan for victory is… but I do know that we need to stay, at least a little longer.

Admittedly, I feel it’s getting nigh on time to pop our tittie out of Iraq’s mouth, and let their forces start to fight more of these battles. We need to take a back seat, and let them show themselves what they’re capable of. Dare I say it? We need to freaking hunker down a bit, so perhaps there won’t be as many of us getting slaughtered. We should do this… we should come home… just as soon as we can. I just wish it could be, now.

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