USATODAY.com - Text of President Bush’s speech

Only the “vital bits” are excerpted.

My greatest responsibility as president is to protect the American people, and that is your calling as well.

So what exactly are you all protecting us from again? (Don’t answer that.)

The troops here and across the world are fighting a global war on terror. This war reached our shores on September 11, 2001.

So I guess the initial WTC bombing in February 1993 was just a fluke? Or the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, even though that was a case of domestic terrorism?

The terrorists who attacked us and the terrorists we face murder in the name of a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent.

Patriot Act? Repression of freedom.

Supporting an amendment that would ban gay marriage? Sounds like a rejection of tolerance.

“You’re either with us or the terrorists”? By extension, that’s a statement implying that dissent is bad.

Hrm…

Their aim is to remake the Middle East in their own grim image of tyranny and oppression by toppling governments, driving us out of the region and exporting terror.

Meanwhile, the US is trying to remake the Middle East in their image of tyranny and opression by continuing to occupy the country, getting their butts kicked by insurgents, and–really–not giving a flying fig.

The terrorists believe that free societies are essentially corrupt and decadent, and with a few hard blows they can force us to retreat. They are mistaken. After September 11, I made a commitment to the American people: This nation will not wait to be attacked again. We will take the fight to the enemy. We will defend our freedom.

…by breaking international law and pissing off the rest of the world in the process.

Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war.

One that didn’t need to be one.

Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

And the soldiers who joy in torturing innocent Iraqis who are wrongfully jailed are, what? Ditto for any ones who kill innocent Iraqis.

There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home.

“What’s so bad about peace, love, and understanding?”

They’re not pissed off because they hate freedom. They’re pissed off because they’ve had their perception of it taken away, not to mention they’re tired of being treated like crap.

Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists.

Where’s Osama?

We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror.

You do know you can’t fight a concept, right? Take a look at the war on drugs!

We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East.

How does occupation equal freedom?

We are removing a source of violence and instability and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren.

…by inflicting more violence, which will–eventually–begat…err, more violence.

The work in Iraq is difficult and dangerous. Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country. And tonight I will explain the reasons why.

I can hardly wait. (Notice sarcasm.)

Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of peace and freedom.

How do you know the reason they’re doing this isn’t because they want the US out of their country?

Our military reports that we have killed or captured hundreds of foreign fighters in Iraq who have come from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and other nations. They are making common cause with criminal elements, Iraqi insurgents and remnants of Saddam Hussein’s regime who want to restore the old order.

…or who just want the US out of their country.
They fight because they know that the survival of their hateful ideology is at stake.

…or because they want the US out of their country. (I’m starting to sound like a broken record here.)

They know that as freedom takes root in Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty as well. And when the Middle East grows in democracy, prosperity and hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors, lose their recruits and lose their hopes for turning that region into a base for attacks on America and our allies around the world.

Or it’ll get progressively worse.

Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: “This Third World War is raging” in Iraq. “The whole world is watching this war.” He says it will end in “victory and glory or misery and humiliation.”

But who gets what?

The terrorists know that the outcome will leave them emboldened or defeated. So they are waging a campaign of murder and destruction. And there is no limit to the innocent lives they are willing to take.

What about the innocent lives lost at the hands of the US?

We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who exploded car bombs along a busy shopping street in Baghdad, including one outside a mosque. We see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who sent a suicide bomber to a teaching hospital in Mosul. And we see the nature of the enemy in terrorists who behead civilian hostages and broadcast their atrocities for the world to see.

And we see the nature of another enemy of sorts in pictures of soldiers who gloat and whathaveyou as they torture innocent prisoners.

The terrorists, both foreign and Iraqi, failed to stop the transfer of sovereignty. They failed to break our coalition and force a mass withdrawal by our allies. They failed to incite an Iraqi civil war.

Oh, but they’re probably working on it.

They failed to prevent free elections.

Which, to some, were pretty much a farce.

They failed to stop the formation of a democratic Iraqi government that represents all of Iraq’s diverse population.

But doesn’t get to do a bloody thing with the US still there!

The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden.

Isn’t that what you’re already doing?

Come on; you had Zarqawi in your grasp several times already; but you haven’t done a GD thing about it! It’s because of the US’s inaction that he and Osama are still on the loose.

For the sake of our nation’s security, this will not happen on my watch.

Sorry, but it already has.

A little over a year ago, I spoke to the nation and described our coalition’s goal in Iraq….I outlined the steps we would take to achieve this goal: We would hand authority over to a sovereign Iraqi government; we would help Iraqis hold free elections by January 2005; we would continue helping Iraqis rebuild their nation’s infrastructure and economy; we would encourage more international support for Iraq’s democratic transition; and we would enable Iraqis to take increasing responsibility for their own security and stability.

And where’s the part about the US making like a bat outta hell and leaving the country?

In the past year, we have made significant progress: One year ago today, we restored sovereignty to the Iraqi people.

If they were really sovereign, the US wouldn’t still be occupying the country.

In January 2005, more than 8 million Iraqi men and women voted in elections that were free and fair and took place on time.

Again, to some, this whole thing was a farce.

We continued our efforts to help them rebuild their country. Rebuilding a country after three decades of tyranny is hard and rebuilding while at war is even harder. Our progress has been uneven but progress is being made. We are improving roads and schools and health clinics and working to improve basic services like sanitation, electricity and water. And together with our allies, we will help the new Iraqi government deliver a better life for its citizens.

Maybe we should try that here in the United States!

To complete the mission, we will prevent al-Qaeda and other foreign terrorists from turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban � a safe haven from which they could launch attacks on America and our friends. And the best way to complete the mission is to help Iraqis build a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself.

You do know the Taliban did try to re-claim Afghanistan for themselves, right?

So our strategy going forward has both a military track and a political track.

And somewhere in there, there’s a hidden track.

I recognize that Americans want our troops to come home as quickly as possible.

Duh!

So do I.

Oh, really?

Some contend that we should set a deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces. Let me explain why that would be a serious mistake. Setting an artificial timetable would send the wrong message to the Iraqis, who need to know that America will not leave before the job is done. It would send the wrong message to our troops, who need to know that we are serious about completing the mission they are risking their lives to achieve.

I don’t know about that.

IMO, this country has been at this for two years. Troops have been over there for a while now. Some of them are probably getting very restless. (Psst! Check out optruth.org) Maybe a deadline is something that’s necessary. It doesn’t have to be super-super tight. Maybe, say, by the end of 2006? That gives you eighteen months. One can do a lot in eighteen months.

And it would send the wrong message to the enemy, who would know that all they have to do is to wait us out. We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed and not a day longer.

A timetable may make them freak out a little bit. ;)

Some Americans ask me, if completing the mission is so important, why don’t you send more troops? If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them.

As I recall, some of them probably have.

But our commanders tell me they have the number of troops they need to do their job. Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are in fact working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave.

Uh-huh. *yawn*

The other critical element of our strategy is to help ensure that the hopes Iraqis expressed at the polls in January are translated into a secure democracy. The Iraqi people are emerging from decades of tyranny and oppression. Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, the Shia and Kurds were brutally oppressed and the vast majority of Sunni Arabs were also denied their basic rights, while senior regime officials enjoyed the privileges of unchecked power. The challenge facing Iraqis today is to put this past behind them and come together to build a new Iraq that includes all its people.

Let’s hope so.

They are doing that by building the institutions of a free society, a society based on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion and equal justice under law. The Iraqis have held free elections and established a transitional national assembly. The next step is to write a good constitution that enshrines these freedoms in permanent law. The assembly plans to expand its constitutional drafting committee to include more Sunni Arabs. Many Sunnis who opposed the January elections are now taking part in the democratic process, and that is essential to Iraq’s future.

Those Sunnis didn’t take part because they believed the whole thing was a farce; and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them still do believe that.

After a constitution is written, the Iraqi people will have a chance to vote on it. If approved, Iraqis will go to the polls again to elect a new government under their new, permanent constitution. By taking these critical steps and meeting their deadlines, Iraqis will bind their multiethnic society together in a democracy that respects the will of the majority and protects minority rights.

Again, let’s hope so.

As Iraqis make progress toward a free society, the effects are being felt beyond Iraq’s borders. Before our coalition liberated Iraq, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Today the leader of Libya has given up his chemical and nuclear weapons programs.

And guess what? No illegal invasion was necessary! No blood was shed!

Across the broader Middle East, people are claiming their freedom. In the last few months, we have witnessed elections in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon. These elections are inspiring democratic reformers in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Our strategy to defend ourselves and spread freedom is working.

Ah, they’re all becoming a buncha trendwhores. ;)

The rise of freedom in this vital region will eliminate the conditions that feed radicalism and ideologies of murder and make our nation safer.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I feel no safer now than I did on September 10, 2001.

The terrorists do not understand America.

The US doesn’t necessarily understand the terrorists, either. (Devil’s advocate.)

We know that if evil is not confronted, it gains in strength and audacity and returns to strike us again.

It also gains in strength and audacity even when it is confronted.

In this time of testing, our troops can know: The American people are behind you. Next week, our nation has an opportunity to make sure that support is felt by every soldier, sailor, airman, Coast Guardsman and Marine at every outpost across the world. 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 letters to our troops in the field or helping the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a Web site, AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about private efforts in your own community. At this time when we celebrate our freedom, let us stand with the men and women who defend us all.

Probably one of the few things everyone of any political stripe can agree with.

Thank you. And may God bless America.

Don’t assume God is on our side.