President says U.S. must defeat al-Qaida in Iraq
Withdrawing would be disastrous, Bush tells airmen
By Robert Behre , Schuyler Kropf
Withdrawing would be disastrous, Bush tells airmen
The Post and Courier
President Bush makes his way through the buffet line during his visit to Charleston Air Force Base on Tuesday.
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President Bush visits the Charleston Air Force Base
A day after Democratic presidential hopefuls debated in Charleston about who could most quickly pull American troops out of Iraq, President Bush visited Charleston Air Force Base to make a case for why they should stay.
Bush summarized intelligence that indicated how the biggest terrorists in Iraq have direct ties to Osama bin Laden. By stressing al-Qaida's burgeoning operation in Iraq, Bush aimed to frame the war in the public's mind as a matter of protecting the United States.
"The key lesson of Sept. 11 is that the best way to protect Americans is to go on offense, to fight the terrorists overseas so we don't have to face them here at home," he said during the lunchtime gathering of about 200 airmen and elected officials.
Bush declassified information about al-Qaida's operation for his speech. He said he wanted to show that al-Qaida in Iraq is a core part of the overall terror network, a direct jab at those who say U.S. troops in Iraq are bogged down against the wrong enemy.
"Those who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the threat of al-Qaida in Iraq and its ties to Osama bin Laden ignore the clear consequence of such a retreat," he said. "If we were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world and disastrous for America."
He stressed that America had been attacked overseas by the same terrorist network long before the country went to war in Iraq. He also noted America's deadliest enemies in Iraq are foreigners who have pledged allegiance to bin Laden. "Like bin Laden, they are cold-blooded killers who murder the innocent to achieve al-Qaida's political objectives," he said.
Bush visited the base at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who accompanied him on the flight, along with South Carolina 1st District Rep. Henry Brown, also of South Carolina.
Graham, who flew back to Washington, D.C., with Bush, said later that the president's remarks about the al-Qaida-Iraq link were his most persuasive to date. "I thought the speech was very consequential in terms of defining Iraq in terms of a global struggle."
Bush is up against highly skeptical audiences with 18 months left in office. The public has largely lost faith in the war, Congress is weighing ways to end it, and international partners have fading memories of the 2001 attacks against the United States. Democratic presidential candidates traded barbs Monday at The Citadel over whether the Democratic Congress was doing enough to bring the troops home before next year's election.
Graham said the timing of Bush's visit, one day after the Democratic debate, was unintentional, but added, "The timing sort of was fortuitous. ... It did work out to show two different views of the consequences of withdrawal in terms of al-Qaida's presence and how it would empower al-Qaida if we left too soon."
Graham said the war's lagging popularity comes in part because many don't see how it relates to the war on terror. "I think the American public generally sees Iraq as a sectarian battle, as a civil war in some form, that we're in a group of people who can't solve their differences and we're doing more harm than good."
While his lunchtime remarks struck the most serious tone, Bush was in a joking mood after he landed and met with crews of two C-17 transport planes, the workhorse for supplying U.S. troops in Iraq.
"Need a hand with that thing?" he asked as crews pushed tons of cargo into place inside the belly of a C-17.
Bush arrived shortly before 11 a.m. and met with personnel from the Air Force's 437th Airlift Wing, including a pilot, loadmaster, crew chief, flight nurse and a "raven," or flying security officer. One of the flight crews Bush greeted left for Iraq about five hours later, carrying battle zone cargo.
Virtually 100 percent of the aerial cargo going into Iraq now leaves via the Charleston base, a spokesman said.
On the tarmac just after his arrival, Bush presented the President's Volunteer Service Award to Marion Jones, a volunteer with the Airman and Family Readiness Center at the base. Jones has been a volunteer there for 13 years and logged nearly 5,000 hours of service.
Before his departure, Bush met with some family members of the nine Charleston firefighters killed in last month's Sofa Super Store fire, and he gave Tuskegee Airman Earl Middleton of South Carolina a replica of the Congressional Gold Medal. Middleton, 88, was unable to attend the March 29 ceremony in Washington to honor the Tuskegee Airmen.
Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com. Reach Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551 or at skropf@postandcourier.com.
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Hubert (anonymous) says...
How long is Bush going to keep telling lies about his invasion of Iraq? Does he think the American people are this dumb to keep believing his lies.
Never forget this....On 9/11/2001 terrorist from Saudi Arabia attacked the USA and what did Bush do about it?
As of July 25, 2007..he has not done crap about it.
July 25, 2007 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
majorjohnson (anonymous) says...
Hey cvs. Congress, which has the sole power to declare war, told President Bush he could do it, democrat and republican. They did that in order to be able to brag about what a good thing they did if it went well or cry foul if it went bad. Now that the going is tough they want to abandon those people to al quaeda and run with their tails between their legs. How about pulling some pride out of your sock full of poop and quit your whining. Your heart goes out to no one, your hatred for the President overwhelms any rational thought you might be capable of. I didn't vote for him either time and wouldn't do so now, but I'm not overwhelmed with irrational foaming at the mouth hatred either.
As far as impeachment, there is no crime here to impeach for, unless you wanna count starting the war, in which case 95% of the congress should be impeached as well. What's more, it was 100% justified under your precious U.N.'s own resolutions. As far as weapons of mass destructon every country in the world was in agreement that he had them, as well as 90% of democrats who now say they were fooled. Go for it.
July 25, 2007 at 11:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Edwin435 (anonymous) says...
Please watch your language as others are reading this and generally don't want to read that filth. We can express our opinions without the use of profanity. Thank you.
July 25, 2007 at 1:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
da9 (anonymous) says...
I honestly won't pin the whole thing on Bush. Some names to research are Berger and Clinton. I' won't push it on just one political party because basic civics will show that it passes through a lot of people before the president is even allowed to pass or dismiss. Bush has kept it so that heads are getting chopped off there, not here...and I can't argue with that. My brother's been and back 2x, he said it's hell! Where would this country be without war and has anyone noted that we still have the least amount of casualties in war history to date?!
July 25, 2007 at 1:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
da9 (anonymous) says...
Also, just out of curiousity- what would you have done in the situation of 9/11? I don't want to hear "what Bush did wrong" or "well what I wouldn't have done..." I just can't see what I personally would have done differently. I didn't totally focus on just the political party side, but the choices made. Hopefully I'll get some answers that go beyond simply bashing our president, because when I ask what people would have done, I have yet to hear a valid answer. Please insight.
July 25, 2007 at 1:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LTStockton (anonymous) says...
Rongodzilla, you just did exactly what da9 asked you not to do, that is criticize the president instead of telling what you would do different.
cvs - what kind of political discourse was that? While MajorJ is out of line by telling you to quit whining and undermining your support for fallen troops, he at least has embedded his argument with facts that are for the most part true (If I recall correctly there were countries that were skeptical on whether he had wmd's, at least France and Russia did not think the evidence was overwhelming enough to invade)
My biggest critiscms of the war are that when we first invaded, the Iraqis had the fear of god in them. Noone would look at a US troop wrong, and we should have kept this installation of fear up until we had established an Iraqi Army and Gov't. We planned poorly, I do think that.
What boggles my mind is the length of time the American public thought it would take to nation build -- IT TAKES A LONG TIME, and we have proved we don't have the stomach for it... it makes me wonder if we will ever win a war again with embedded reporters, CNN polls, and politicians constantly positioning themselves based on the fickle demands and opinions of the average joe, who by the way probably spends 10 min watching CNN or Foxnews and then changes the channel to American Idol.
I for one don't want average joe making decisions about what goes on for our troops on the ground and I didn't when I was over there, that is what our military leaders are paid for. Maybe this is one of the fallacies of a democratic government? Any insight?
July 25, 2007 at 3:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
da9 (anonymous) says...
LTStockton....THANK YOU! Thank you for also clearing up the cloudiness on poor planning and the timeframe of establishing a nation. It's definitely not going to be done within three years. As for the 'fallacies of democratic government', I couldn't have said it better, you summed it up. Thank you for risking your life for a troop supporter like me. My brother spent about two years between Kandahar and Qatar and knows the hells of war. I respect you.
Rongodzilla-I guess you would have been irrational and got the kids all worked up by jumping up and running around screaming. So sorry he took a second to intake all the information to attempt a rational descision instead of jumping into a frenzy. And good job on following directions.
July 25, 2007 at 6:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reader (anonymous) says...
No, not an English teacher -- just literate. And, if you can't take the criticism, please recall what someone upstream wrote: This is a forum and that you should just skip over any messages you don't like. After all, remember that I have a God given right to say whatever I want here.
FIRST OF ALL READER[,] WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE [] TO CRITIZE ME FOR MY POINT OF VIEW[?] I WILL WRITE [WHOMEVER] I WANT [TO] AND SAY WHATEVER I FEEL LIKE[.] OKAY[?]
WHAT ARE YOU[:] AN ENGLISH TEACHER OR WHAT[?] OR PERHAPS JUST A LOVELY NOBODY WITH NOTHING ELSE TO DO [THAN] CRITIQUE.
WHO LIKES TO GET INVOLVED IN SOMEONE'S CONVO WITH ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL[?] DID IT MAKE YOUR DAY TO COPY AND PASTE MY VIEW[?] IF SO I'M GLAD TO BE OF SERVICE TO YOU.
AND AS I HAVE SAID [BEFORE,] IF YOU [DON'T] LIKE WHAT [I'M] WRITING[,] THEN YOU DO HAVE THE PEROGATIVE TO SKIP IT AND GO ON.
AND IF I CARE TO USE [EXPLETIVES] WHEN WRITING[,] I WILL DO AS SUCH. ONCE AGAIN[,] IT'S A FORUM[.] OKAY[?]
OH[,] AND BY THE WAY[,] I DO HOPE THAT THIS WAS NOT [TOO] VERBOSE FOR YOU[.] AFTER ALL[,] I WRITE WHAT I WANT AND FEEL.
GOD BLESS AMERICA![]
July 25, 2007 at 11:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
southern_yankee (anonymous) says...
All these people say that Bush was wrong going to war in Iraq. Well, everyone should know that Saddam was backing Bin Laden, also even though we didn't stop the trucks that was hauling the WMD out of Iraq. He was producing it before we invaded. Its alot better to fight terrorist in their country than ours. We lost 3000 people, women and children in a few hours, compaired, to 3000 in 6 yrs. Did we forget when Clinton was in office and the USS Cole in Yemen was attacted by terrorist and killed 18 service members. And in 1984 in lebenon alot of marines was killed by terrorist. When is this going to stop or we do something about it. Bush is doing his job, they planned a threat but we stopped them every time. Dem. opened the doors to allow people (Cells) to go to school in this country and meanwhile they plan to conduct terrorist attacts against us. Now we have Syria and Iran we are dealing with that is supplying terrorist with weapons.
If the Dem. win Presidency they will open doors again and let those terrorist to enter and do it all over again.
July 26, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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