Thread: EL CAPITAN'S SPEECH

Same ole retroric, but we can't leave. It would mean the death of Iraq if we did. We need to train the Iraqis in a remote area in masses. Then the Iraqi army would have a fighting chance. It's too bad that it took a White House aid, or whoever the person is, to ralley a standing applause for the President. Shows ya that the army's heart isn't really in this war. If it was, they would have been applauding on their own every 30 seconds. The President talks about securing Iraq. This means that they MUST control the borders. What about our own borders, el capitan?

I have not seen the President's speech yet, but I think it may have been a tactical mistake to try and rally the nation behind the war.

In the past, TV appearances have helped bolster his approval numbers. Now IMHO he is just digging himself in deeper.

W

Yes, I don't like Bush on immigration and Cafta but was Clinton any different? NO!

Bush is right on Iraq! The problem is that we have too many wimps in this country which is why noboy does anything about immigration. If 9-11 would have happened in 1955 you would still see record enlistments into our armed forces and people would buy war bonds. Americans today in too many cases are moraless pathetic wimps! A feel good do drugs and who cares get me a beer attitude!

The greatest generation lived throught the depression and can understand the good because they know the bad. My generation is a generation of wimps. People who want something for nothing. Welfare! Instant gratification etc.

If we leave Iraq without getting the job done we will pay a price for generations and don't forget that Iran is real close to getting a nuke....it is a really scary thought and what should have Bush done after 9-11 nothing like Clinton did after how many Bin laden attacks?

Too many Americans are wimps! Bring back the draft!

I understand lots of people don't like Bush and that is thier right but I will give George one thing...he sticks to his convictions....would you like to see a waffle like Carter in there? Bush will be remembered for 9-11 and aftermath not immigration....

It is pretty easy to sit back here in cozy America and criticize Bush but what would Hillary do any different?

I don't see very many Americans taking the bus instead of driving with gas at $2.22 a gallon. Is anybody buying war bonds? Maybe this is the problem. Bush should have called for a draft right after 9-11 and should have called for war bonds and citities should have been blacked out and bacon rationed...etc etc.....total war so that people can understand directly what this is about!

Same thing with immigration...until a MAJORITY understand the threat nothing will get done!

I am tired of Iraq too but if we have to be there for 10 years so be it!

HOW SOON ONE TENDS TO FORGET 9-11!

Jack--no body is endorsing Clinton or Hillary. What I am saying is that we should have gone into Iraq full bore, no ifs ands or buts. Instead, the government has been dragging its feet with this war. Are you goinig to tell me that with 135,000 of our troops in a war, we can't defeat the insurgency? My point is that we seem to be fighting this war in some limited way when it should be an all out coventional war. We have not yet fought on that level. Wimps? Well, then the wimps are in our government, not in our military. Its very honorable for them to go to war even if they don't believe what they are fighting for. The simple fact that they were called to duty and went when called shows far more bravery than most of us can muster up. I am a Vietnam Era Vetran myself. I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't assigned in country. I can only feel respect for the people in the military for having to do what they must. Wimps? I don't think so. Yes, the greatest generation did win WW II, but its a different world now. The get me a beer attitiude only comes from years of peace time and prosperity. But when push comes to shove, we will win, provided we have the right leaders.

I would like to add to the previous message. The point is that we would win provided we have good leaders. But our leaders are not taking care of us at home. Our borders are porous and our prosperity is disappearing because of inept leadership. Makes ya wonder if these leaders of ours really know what they're doing in this war.

In the past, TV appearances have helped bolster his approval numbers. Now IMHO he is just digging himself in deeper.

William, I didn't see the speech, either, but in the online polls at CNN and NBC Bush is getting creamed.

I know online polls are statistically invalid, but I do think this indicates there's a lot of pent up frustration in the country.

I also agree with you that this speech isn't going to help him much.

I support the War In Iraq although I do believe most Americans thought we were going in because of WMD's and 9/11. Saddam had WMDs, there is no question about that and while there was no evidence that they were in Iraq when we went in to Iraq, there is no question that had we not, Saddam would have secured these weapons or manufactured them at some point. We know he had them and used them against his own people. Was he a threat to the USA? Not really. He actually kind of liked the USA. He was a brutal dictator that didn't play by the rules and now he's in jail...which is a very good thing for the Iraqi People, all the People of the World, and thus the USA and Iraq's neighbors who as they watch Democracy grow in Iraq will say, "hey, that's NICE....I wanna get me some of that." It is a domino theory which I believe over time will become a reality and Americans will be virtually single-handedly responsible for this historic event that bettered their fellow man and fellow women in the Middle East.

Will it make us Popular? Who knows. Will they "like us"? Who knows. The point is: They will be free to like whoever they want. And that is a good thing to have in our history.

Is it time to bring our troops home? I believe it is time to bring our troops home. We are the issue of the insurgency; we are the targets of the killers. We need to come home, because our military mission has been accomplished upon ratification of the Iraq Constitution in August. The rest is law and order issues that Iraq needs to handle on its own and this is an area they know well how to handle. Lack of law and order in Iraq was not an issue before the Americans arrived to liberate. We need to keep a force there, but we do not need the size of the force we have there now. I hope Iraq will ask us for a military base as I believe that would be beneficial to both nations and the region.

JackSmith!! Hold on a minute. Americans are not wimpy-ass, Hon!!

Everyone of our troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and every post around the world and those still in the United States are VOLUNTEERS!! Everyone of those sweet faces SIGNED UP to serve their country and have and are putting their lives on the line for this mission, the mission in Afghanistan and all our missions around the world!

Do you know why recruitmen is down in the Armed Services? I'll tell ya. One reason. The young men and women who have the spirit and guts to join the United States Armed Services have an idealism. There is a unique manner in which they think and filter information. They have a "fire" that burns that causes them to take on the dangerous, the challenging, the honorable hard task...not for money, not for glory, but for honor and duty.

When the President of the United States called the Minute Men vigilantes in complete contradiction to the Truth and the Facts....he alienated himself and the United States Armed Services from that group of young people that would normally be signing into the Armed Services. Young people admire the Minute Men, just as we do. They see their schools and neighborhoods being over-run with foreigners who do not like Americans, who talk about "this being their country", and kids go..."say what?" So when they see the Minute Men doing something about it....taking ACTION...they filter this information and say, "RIGHT ON!" About time somebody did something about this problem.

Then they see the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces call these citizens....vigilantes. RIGHT THEN, RIGHT THERE in one stupid untruthful hurtful erroneous unfair statement about American Citizens doing a job that he was supposed to be doing...told our young people....NOT FOR THIS PRESIDENT. Something's wrong there, and I'm not risking my life for whatever THAT IS.

Check the enlistment figures and let me know "WHEN" the Army started having "recruitment" problems. I believe it was in March....when the President of the United States called the Minute Men "vigilantes".

NO MAN of morals, integrity, honor, duty, consience....would have ever made a public statement like that. And young people know that....the same as we do.

Judy,

If there's a fatal flaw in our Iraq strategy, it will be the same one that was in our Vietnam strategy. You can't give freedom to people who aren't willing to fight for it themselves.

That's what happened in Vietnam, and it appears to be happening in Iraq as well.

You might recall that during the first Iraq war, the Kuwaitis didn't lift a finger to help oust Saddam, even though he'd invaded their country.

It seems that the Iraqis have the same mindset, for whatever reason.

If they're not willing to fight, it doesn't matter how long we're there. The bad guys are going to take over as soon as we leave, and a lot of our people are going to be dead.

Fire retardant suit is ON.

Tomorrow my husband will have his own name and avatar. All the time he's seen me reading and posting here, while he did his work next to me on his laptop, he would listen to me, agree, peak over now and then etc. But last night for some reason he began to really read the posts at ALIPAC and he couldn't believe how much truth he was reading and said, "Wow, these are all such outstanding and intelligent people!" I said, "Why do you think I put time into this?" So I had to let him post a little last night and tonight under my name, LegalUSCitizen. But no more. I tried to sign him in, but apparently we need another e-mail address. So he will soon be back with his own name, avatar and opinions in a few days, when I figure out how to establish a second email address.

I AM BACK!! THE REAL LEGALUSCITIZEN

Now, if I may, I would like to say what I thought about President Bush's speech tonight. Not much. HOWEVER, he is still the President, and the issue is regarding our troops who are fighting a war for us, and therefore I want to be as respectful as possible in my response. (Mind you, I did rather enjoy my husband's choice for a title to this new topic.."El Capitain's Speech". It just fit so well)

I am not an expert on foreign affairs, however, as an American I am an expert on terrorist attacks. I know that these terrorists will kill the most innocent of people, no matter what the price in pain, grief, and horror. When President Bush said it was necessary for us to go to war to get these ruthless cold blooded murderers, I said, "Let's go tonight!" What I basically understood was that we were going in further than Afghanistan to get these terrorists and because Sadam Hussein had WMD's.

Then came the elections. The Dems seemed to be doing and saying many things to aid and abet the enemy, and I felt dreadfully angry about that, because I saw it as extremely dangerous to our troops. By supporting President Bush, I felt I was supporting our troops. I still think it was the best thing to have done.

As time passed, it was the deterioration of our country at home that brought my attention to President Bush's handling of things. When I saw my local community struggling, the illegal aliens in the schools, etc. I decided to look into what was going on. That's when I learned about our borders, and that over 4,000 unknown people enter each day. But the biggest shock was that President Bush was doing nothing about it.

Then I questioned his credibility regarding the war. We are there, I hear people whose opinion I respect say, " we need to stay", I hear good people say, "bring them home." At this point, I don't know what to think, which is probably just where President Bush would like me to be.

I would like to see President Bush secure this country first, then secure Iraq. At this point it would have to be done simultaneously. Fine. Just do it.

The problem that I have with his speech tonight, is that I really didn't hear what I needed to hear in order to have confidence in him. If he would have addressed our threats at home due to the borders, and if I had heard that he was going to DO MORE in Iraq in order to bring this war to an end sooner, I would stand behind the President. That's what I needed to hear, and that is what I did not hear.

God Bless Our Troops and Minutemen.