WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Bush delivered a passionate and revealing address to the nation on Wednesday night to explain his plan for a troop surge to stabilize the situation on the ground in the Iraqi war and to offer his rationale for the strategy employed to date in terms not heard before. "Sometime in 2003, Cheney and Rummy told me we had a plan, so I thought we were covered. At some point last month, they explained they were talking about lunch, not for invading, securing and managing a sovereign nation. So I take responsibility for not looking into that more closely once we were through with lunch that day in 2003."As to the fitness of the Iraqi army, the president said, "We're trainin' them and they are tryin' real hard. But they still tend to think of our troops as human shields and we've got to change that mindset. We need to work with them but also respect their culture. For example, I think if you have an Iraqi commander who doesn't massacre any of his neighbors for a certain time period, say a week, a month, whatever, you reward that type of behavior with a maybe an ipod or a goat, whatever is the culturally correct thing. But I'll leave those details to the men on the ground."
While assuring the American people that the surge will quell the violence and put Iraq on the road to stability, the president raised some eyebrows at the conclusion of his speech. "If anyone has a better idea, give Condi a call on her cell. It's 212-555-1212."
While assuring the American people that the surge will quell the violence and put Iraq on the road to stability, the president raised some eyebrows at the conclusion of his speech. "If anyone has a better idea, give Condi a call on her cell. It's 212-555-1212."
