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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
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 Tue Apr 13, 2004 8:39 pm Bush Addresses Iraq, Domestic Security |
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Bush Addresses Iraq, Domestic Security
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
WASHINGTON � Three groups of opponents are seeking to drive troops out of Iraq, but U.S.-led soldiers will continue the mission, even if it means more troops or additional resources, President Bush (search) said Tuesday night. He also vowed to turn over government authority on time � June 30.
"These have been tough weeks in that country. Coalition forces have encountered serious violence in some areas of Iraq," Bush said in a prime-time press conference.
Bush said three groups � Saddam Hussein backers, insurgents, including those backed by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (search), and foreign terrorists � are fighting against the U.S.-led coalition. He warned that al-Sadr "must answer the charges against him and disband his illegal militia," which has been responsible for much of the violence as well as recent kidnappings of foreign workers in Iraq.
"They want to run us out of Iraq and destroy the democratic hopes of the Iraqi people. The violence we have seen is a power grab ... it's not a civil war, it's not a popular uprising. Most of Iraq is relatively stable," he said.
The president opened the news conference with a 20-minute statement on Iraq in which he reminded the country what's at stake there and repeated his commitment to transfer sovereignty to Iraqi civilians on June 30.
"Were the coalition to step back from the June 30th pledge, many Iraqis would question our intentions and feel their hopes betrayed. And those in Iraq who trade in hatred and conspiracy theories would find a larger audience and gain a stronger hand. We will not step back from our pledge. On June 30th, Iraqi sovereignty (search) will be placed in Iraqi hands," he said.
In his third family-hour solo press briefing since he took office in the White House, Bush took questions from reporters who filled the East Room. The first query of the president asked him to respond to complaints that Iraq is looking more and more like Vietnam, a comparison that Bush rejected.
Asked about his willingness to commit troops and the length of time they will be serving, Bush said they will be there for as long as it takes "and not one day more."
While the first half-hour of the news conference focused on Iraq, the president also was asked to defend his administration's inability to stop the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Bush said he regretted that the United States was not on a war footing since the enemy obviously was. He added that now that he knows what happened, "I wish there were some things in place, for instance, the Department of Homeland Security."
"One lesson from September 11, one lesson: We must deal with gathering threats, and that's part of the reason I dealt with Iraq the way I did. The other lesson is this country must go on the offense and stay on the offense," he said.
Bush also said that he has thought over and again about what he could have done, but none of the information he had, including a pre-Sept. 11 memo that warned of threats from Al Qaeda (search), dealt with specific information or upcoming threats.
The president did not take issue with the FBI, which was responsible for domestic criminal investigations at the time of the attacks and told Bush in the Aug. 6, 2001, Presidential Daily Briefing that 70 full field investigations of potential terrorist activities were under way at the time.
With the administration's pre-Sept. 11 counterterrorism efforts emerging as a full-blown campaign-year issue, the president said Monday that his administration is considering making changes as a result.
"Now may be a time to revamp and reform our intelligence services. And we look forward to hearing recommendations. We're thinking about that, ourselves and we look forward to working with the commission," Bush said Monday during a joint press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (search) in Crawford, Texas.
On Tuesday, aides explained the revamping and reforming of the intelligence apparatus the president was considering. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan referred to big changes that have already been made, most significantly the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (search), enactment of the Patriot Act (search) and joint briefings with the directors of the CIA and FBI.
McClellan added that the president is awaiting recommendations from the Sept. 11 commission and another panel investigating pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (search).
Reminded that the second commission won't issue a report until next January, after the election, McClellan said, "I would never rule out taking any steps sooner if they can help us better protect the American people ... The president believes there is always more that can be done."
Despite the fact that Bush has spoken positively about the work of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (search), his aides say the public hearings have been mostly a partisan exercise. They say the best work is being done behind the scenes by the staffers, and that's whom they hope will guide the commission's recommendations. The commission is supposed to wrap up its investigation in July.
He then was taking questions, many of which were focusing on a memo, entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S.," (search) that he received on Aug. 6, 2001, as part of the President's Daily Briefing. The White House released the memo publicly after its title was revealed during the Sept. 11 commission's hearing last week with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
On Monday, Bush deflected questions about the presidential memo, and said that if the FBI had known about an imminent terrorist attack against America, the agency would have told him.
Bush was also responding to questions about the worst few weeks of fighting since major combat operations ended in Iraq.
The president has been mostly upbeat about Iraq despite a heavy week of American casualties. U.S. troops have killed about 700 insurgents across Iraq since the beginning of the month. About 70 coalition troops � almost all Americans � have died in clashes.
Asked about the drop in support for the mission, Bush said he would not be swayed by frequently shifting popular opinion.
"Upon whether I make decisions based on polls, I don't. I don't make decisions that way," he said.
With the Sept. 11 commission hearings and the recent battles in Iraq being broadcast into American homes, this is a good time for Bush to defend his policies, said Stephen Hess, a political analyst at the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution (search).
"This is an administration that gets in trouble because it doesn't speak up in a timely way and defend itself," Hess said. The news conference is "really quite necessary," he said.
Karlyn Bowman, who does research on public opinion and politics at the American Enterprise Institute (search), said Bush knows there is widespread anxiety throughout the United States about the situation in Iraq.
"He has to convey being in charge and having a clear plan of what's ahead," Bowman said. "And I'm sure he will express compassion for the families" of those killed in the fighting.
"I think on 9/11, the president has to reiterate that they would have done much more if they would have had specific information," she said, adding that most Americans were not anxiously waiting to read the memo, which was declassified and released on Saturday. "I'm still not sure the public is in the mood to point the finger."
Tuesday's question-and-answer session is the 12th solo news conference Bush has held during his term in office, and the first of this year. However, he frequently holds joint press availabilities before and after meetings with his Cabinet, congressional and foreign leaders.
Still, by this point in their respective presidencies, the president's father, George H.W. Bush, had held 75 solo news conferences, Jimmy Carter had held 55, Bill Clinton had convened 40, Richard Nixon had held 25 and Ronald Reagan had conducted 22. Reagan and Nixon have held the most press conferences during prime time.
Fox News' Wendell Goler and James Rosen and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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What did yall think of the speech. I thought he did a great job!
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:43 am |
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I read this wow.
Last edited by Leo Wyatt on Fri Apr 16, 2004 11:59 am; edited 1 time in total
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chakotaysgal
Junior Cadet
Joined: 24 Mar 2004
Posts: 19
Location: In your backyard, go look
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| Fri Apr 16, 2004 11:53 am |
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I agree with you Kmma but might want to edit your post. People who disagree might take offense.
Hey I agree with you.
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
Posts: 19045
Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Fri Apr 16, 2004 11:59 am |
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There. Better?
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Sat Apr 17, 2004 1:52 pm |
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He did a TERRIFIC job, I think.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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