There wasn't much in the way of news here. Most of these messages are recycled from before the war, even though since then we have learned that most of the administration's claims about Iraq were wrong. But unlike the Downing Street memos, for instance, this story is on the front page of every newspaper. So, here are some initial reactions to the "Buck Up America" speech last night:
President Bush spent most of the time last night trying to link the war in Iraq with the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the more popular war on terror:
Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Among the terrorists, there is no debate... The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11 ... and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden.
This, of course, is what the administration has been doing since before the war. The response to September 11 is much more popular among Americans, while the invasion of Iraq is now widely considered to have been a mistake. But like Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, numerous government panels have concluded that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. The administration's new twist was to focus on a recent CIA memo, which stated that Iraq has now become the new Afghanistan in terms of a training ground for new terrorists:
And we fight today because terrorists want to attack our country and kill our citizens, and Iraq is where they are making their stand.
The reality, however, is that Iraq is such a good training ground for new terrorists because our troops make such good targets.
The President also took the opportunity last night to remind Americans that they should support our troops. When comparing actions to words, however, President Bush and his administration has been asleep at the wheel in terms of taking care of our wounded veterans, creating a $1 billion shortfall in funding for Veterans’ Affairs. Arguably, providing medical services to our military veterans seems like a good way to support our military.
Why this was a major policy speech is unclear. There was no indication that Mr. Bush has any intention of doing anything differently in Iraq. This means - and what the President did not say last night - is that we will have a significant number of troops in Iraq for the next three to five years, if not longer. The military commanders have already said they expect the numbers to remain above 100,000 at least through 2006. Given the rate of spending so far (more than $200 billion since March 2003), we can probably expect to spend another $150 billion funding the occupation of Iraq during Bush's tenure.
