Presidential address

[cashflyer]

Presidential address, pre-prepared for 2009

Now let me begin by describing the situation I found when I was inaugurated on January 20: The war had been going on for five years. Thousands of Americans had been killed in action. The training program for the Iraqis was behind schedule. Thousands more Americans were in Iraq with no plans to reduce the number. No progress had been made and the United States had not put forth a comprehensive peace proposal.

The war was causing deep division at home and criticism from many of our friends, as well as our enemies, abroad.

In view of these circumstances, there were some who urged that I end the war at once by ordering the immediate withdrawal of all American forces. From a political standpoint, this would have been a popular and easy course to follow. After all, we became involved in the war while my predecessor was in office. I could blame the defeat, which would be the result of my action, on him -- and come out as the peacemaker. Some put it to me quite bluntly: This was the only way to avoid allowing Bush’s war to become my war.

But I had a greater obligation than to think only of the years of my Administration, and of the next election. I had to think of the effect of my decision on the next generation, and on the future of peace and freedom in America, and in the world.

Let us all understand that the question before us is not whether some Americans are for peace and some Americans are against peace. The question at issue is not whether Bush's war becomes my war. The great questions are: How can we win America’s peace? and, Now that we are in the war, what is the best way to end it?

In January I could only conclude that the precipitate withdrawal of all American forces from Iraq would be a disaster not only for Iraq but for the United States and for the cause of peace.

For the future of peace, precipitate withdrawal would be a disaster of immense magnitude. A nation cannot remain great if it betrays its allies and lets down its friends. Our defeat and humiliation in Iraq without question would promote recklessness in the councils of those great powers who have not yet abandoned their goals of worlds conquest. This would spark violence wherever our commitments help maintain the peace -- in the Middle East, in Berlin, eventually even in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately, this would cost more lives. It would not bring peace. It would bring more war.

Now let me now turn to our program for the future. We have adopted a plan which we have worked out in cooperation with the Iraqis for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat ground forces and their replacement by Iraqi forces on an orderly scheduled timetable. This withdrawal will be made from strength and not from weakness. As Iraqi forces become stronger, the rate of American withdrawal can become greater.

I have not, and do not, intend to announce the timetable for our program, and there are obvious reasons for this decision which I’m sure you will understand. An announcement of a fixed timetable for our withdrawal would allow enemies to simply wait until our forces had withdrawn and then move in. The factors on which we will base our withdrawal decisions are the level of enemy activity and the progress of the training programs of the Iraqi forces.

Now this clearly demonstrates why it is not wise to be frozen in on a fixed timetable. We must retain the flexibility to base each withdrawal decision on the situation as it is at that time, rather than on estimates that are no longer valid. Along with this optimistic estimate, I must in all candor leave one note of caution. If the level of enemy activity significantly increases, we might have to adjust our timetable accordingly.

My fellow Americans, I am sure you can recognize from what I have said that we really only have two choices open to us if we want to end this war. I can order an immediate precipitate withdrawal of all Americans from Iraq without regard to the effects of that action. Or we can persist in our search for a just peace through continued implementation of our plan for Democracy -- a plan in which we will withdraw all of our forces from Iraq on a schedule in accordance with our program as the Iraqis become strong enough to defend their own freedom.

I have chosen this second course. It is not the easy way. It is the right way. It is a plan which will end the war and serve the cause of peace, not just in Iraq but in the world.

In speaking of the consequences of a precipitous withdrawal, I mentioned that our allies would lose confidence in America. Far more dangerous, we would lose confidence in ourselves. Oh, the immediate reaction would be a sense of relief that our men were coming home. But as we saw the consequences of what we had done, inevitable remorse and divisive recrimination would scar our spirit as a people.

We have faced other crises in our history and we have become stronger by rejecting the easy way out and taking the right way in meeting our challenges. Our greatness as a nation has been our capacity to do what has to be done when we knew our course was right. I recognize that some of my fellow citizens disagree with the plan for peace I have chosen. Honest and patriotic Americans have reached different conclusions as to how peace should be achieved.

But as President of the United States, I would be untrue to my oath of office if I allowed the policy of this nation to be dictated by the minority who try to impose their point of view on the nation by mounting demonstrations. For almost 200 years, the policy of this nation has been made under our Constitution by those leaders in the Congress and the White House elected by all the people. If a vocal minority, however fervent its cause, prevails over reason and the will of the majority, this nation has no future as a free society.

I have chosen a plan for peace. I believe it will succeed. If it does not succeed, what the critics say now won’t matter. Or if it does succeed, what the critics say now won’t matter. If it does not succeed, anything I say then won’t matter.

I know it may not be fashionable to speak of patriotism or national destiny these days, but I feel it is appropriate to do so on this occasion. Two hundred years ago this nation was weak and poor. But even then, America was the hope of millions in the world. Today we have become the strongest and richest nation in the world, and the wheel of destiny has turned so that any hope the world has for the survival of peace and freedom will be determined by whether the American people have the moral stamina and the courage to meet the challenge of free-world leadership.

Let historians not record that, "When America was the most powerful nation in the world, we passed on the other side of the road and allowed the last hopes for peace and freedom of millions of people to be suffocated by the forces of totalitarianism."

So tonight, to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans, I ask for your support. I pledged in my campaign for the Presidency to end the war in a way that we could win the peace. I have initiated a plan of action which will enable me to keep that pledge. The more support I can have from the American people, the sooner that pledge can be redeemed. For the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to capitulate.

Let us be united for peace. Let us also be united against defeat. Because let us understand -- terrorism cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that.

[kstar]

Sounds like the current plan for Iraq, no?

[Jim Sims]

"precipitate"

A "high falutin" word such as that would never be used; his/her constituency would not understand it.

[MRM]

I will not parse that word any further. - Bill C.

[dipso]

Presidential Address

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue