To be fair, we were warned. The White House press corps specifically asked if there would be anything resembling fresh material in the president’s prime-time address on the war in Iraq. Scott McClellan said:
“I think many Americans have not heard much of what the President has to say tomorrow night.”
Now I understand what that means. People who haven’t been listening to the same overly-vague rhetoric for the past several months may have heard something from the president they hadn’t heard before. But for the rest of us? It was another night of “there he goes again.”
Indeed, watching the speech, all I could think of was a Bush quote from last month: “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” The president was talking about Social Security at the time, but the idea of Bush using repetition to “catapult the propaganda” seems to apply equally well to his message on Iraq.
From where I sat, I saw a man who simply has no shame. The references to the attacks of Sept. 11 were numerous (I counted six), as were mentions of Osama bin Laden (at least two). Bush never came right out and explicitly said we’re in Iraq because of Saddam Hussein’s role in 9/11, but it’s the same shell game he’s played for years: use ambiguous language to make a connection that doesn’t exist — and hope that just enough Americans are fooled to get a bump in the polls.
About half-way through, we got to the heart of the matter. Bush used the words “new steps” and I was all ears.
“To further prepare Iraqi forces to fight the enemy on their own, we are taking three new steps: First, we are partnering coalition units with Iraqi units…. Second, we are embedding coalition “transition teams” inside Iraqi units…. Third, we’re working with the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Defense to improve their capabilities to coordinate anti-terrorist operations.”
It was the same approach as the 9/11 tack. Is there anything new about these proposals? No, American forces have been implmenting these exact same policies for a year. Then why say them and describe them as “new”? Because, again, he’s hoping that just enough Americans are fooled to get a bump in the polls.
So, will there be any changes to the war strategy? No. Any new initiatives to help turn the tide? A course correction? A plan for success? Anything resembling an exit strategy? No, no, and no. Anything new at all? Well, there’s a new website.
“This Fourth of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom — by flying the flag, sending a letter to our troops in the field, or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a website — AmericaSupportsYou.mil.”
When the circumstances call for a national leader to articulate a clear and compelling vision for world affairs, the president gives us tired rhetoric and a website. Typical. Bush had an opportunity to deliver an important message. He chose not to.
I had intended to offer some point-by-point fact-checking, highlighting Bush’s mendacity on issues like the number of Iraqi security forces trained and the troop deployment numbers, but frankly, it hardly seems worth it this morning. The speech just wasn’t important enough to bother.
The local paper for Fort Bragg, the Fayetteville Observer, said yesterday that the history books could forever mark this [Bush’s] ‘Fort Bragg speech.'” Now that it’s beeen delivered, we know the speech won’t be remembered next week, better yet remembered by the history books.