Analyzing Bush's Speech

Quick summary: Bush admitted past mistakes and said the responsibility for them rests with him (I guess that's why he hasn't fired anyone except the people who didn't actually make any mistakes... and Donald Rumsfeld). But he said the way to fix these mistakes was not just more of the same, but even more of more of the same. He presented his administration's carefully-crafted new plan for Iraq, which he has supposedly been agonising over for many long weeks (between rounds of golf, bike-riding and scrub-clearing), as fundamentally an Iraqi plan devised by the Iraqi government. He set benchmarks for the Iraqi government, which he claimed they had set for themselves. He made the usual fear-mongering predictions about the horrific consequences that would follow US withdrawal from Iraq. He said Iraqi and US forces in Baghdad were suffering from "too many restrictions" and would now have a "green light" to whatever they damn well please (if only they had Green Lantern power rings as well). He said he and his great mate Joe Liebermann were setting up a new committe so things would look bipartisan and the Democrats could share the blame when things go wrong. He said he would listen to any Democrat suggestions that would lead to victory. He said he is going to bomb Iran as soon as he gets the chance, and other countries in the Middle East were wusses if they didn't support him. He mentioned September 11 again. He thanked the "selfless" men and women who were dying for his "noble" cause and then demanded further "sacrifice" from them. He called God "the Author of Liberty(TM)". He said US "civilians" in Iraq would have more money to throw around. He mentioned "oil" only twice: once to warn about terrrsts getting their hands on it, the other to gush about how "all" Iraqis would soon be showering in the profits from it (after Big Oil take their PSA-enforced cut, of course). He emphasized that the USA was just "helping" the Iraqis: in fact he said the word "help" 20 times.

Here are selected excerpts, with comments mostly restricted to bold highlights:

The elections of 2005 were a stunning achievement. We thought that these elections would bring the Iraqis together – and that as we trained Iraqi security forces, we could accomplish our mission with fewer American troops.

But in 2006, the opposite happened...

Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me. It is clear that we need to change our strategy in Iraq...

The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow [gandhi: er, they already have grown] in strength and gain new recruits. They would be [are] in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be [has been] emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have [have] a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people. On September the 11th, 2001 [thar she blows, cap'n!], we saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring to the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America must succeed in Iraq...

Only the Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an aggressive plan to do it.

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have. Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work.

Let me explain the main elements of this effort: The Iraqi government will appoint a military commander and two deputy commanders for their capital. The Iraqi government will deploy Iraqi Army and National Police brigades across Baghdad’s nine districts. When these forces are fully deployed, there will be 18 Iraqi Army and National Police brigades committed to this effort – along with local police. These Iraqi forces will operate from local police stations – conducting patrols, setting up checkpoints, and going door-to-door to gain the trust of Baghdad residents.

This is a strong commitment. But for it to succeed, our commanders say the Iraqis will need our help. So America will change our strategy to help the Iraqis carry out their campaign to put down sectarian violence – and bring security to the people of Baghdad. This will require increasing American force levels. So I have committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq...

Our troops will have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs...

In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods – and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated...

America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.

To establish its authority, the Iraqi government plans to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq’s provinces by November. To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country’s economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis [gandhi: cough! splutter!]. To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend 10 billion dollars of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs. To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. And to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation’s political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws – and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq’s constitution.

America will change our approach to help the Iraqi government as it works to meet these benchmarks... We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped Army – and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential U.S. security mission in Iraq. We will give our commanders and civilians greater flexibility to spend funds for economic assistance...

Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq...

We endorse the Iraqi government’s call to finalize an International Compact that will bring new economic assistance in exchange for greater economic reform...

Let me be clear: The terrorists and insurgents in Iraq are without conscience, and they will make the year ahead bloody and violent. Even if our new strategy works exactly as planned, deadly acts of violence will continue – and we must expect more Iraqi and American casualties. The question is whether our new strategy will bring us closer to success. I believe that it will.

Victory will not look like the ones our fathers and grandfathers achieved. There will be no surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship [gandhi: heh!]...

Acting on the good advice of Senator Joe Lieberman and other key members of Congress...

Fellow citizens: The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice, and resolve. It can be tempting to think that America can put aside the burdens of freedom...