Bush’s Address

Last night President Bush tried to stem his declining approval ratings by giving an address concerning the Iraq conflict. A CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll shows that 51% of Americans want a plan for withdrawing in Iraq and 53% say the war was a mistake.

Right off the bat, the President tried top link the September 11th attacks to Iraq although there has been no proven link between Saddam’s regime and the attacks. There were no new policy statements and the President seemed merely to repeat the same ideas and language that the administration has been putting forth for months. In fact, the speech was reminiscent of his speech last year at the Army War College. Bush also filled his speech with images of terrorist bombings and beheadings, the specter of Osama bin Laden, and the fear that we could be attacked if we don’t hold it down in Iraq.

Bush also responded to critics that call for a plan of withdrawal by saying that it would send the wrong message to the troops, the Iraqis, and the enemy. In response to critics who say send more troops, he said that his commanders were telling him that they did not need more troops. This seems in contrast to many reports by congressmen who have spoken with commanders on the ground who have called for more troops. He also argued that sending more troops would not encourage the Iraqis to stand up for themselves and would give the impression that we intended to stay for longer than necessary.

The State Of . . . Iraq is far from certain. In the immediate term, The State of . . . America is still uneasy about Iraq and the President’s press conference did nothing to put our concerns to rest.