What would you give to watch George Bush fall off a Bike?
CARLISLE, Pa., May 24 ? President Bush on Monday night sought to reassure Americans, Iraqis and other nations that he has a plan to set Iraq on a track to stable self-rule, saying his goal was to make Iraq's people "free, not to make them American."
The United States, Mr. Bush said, will use a "five-point plan" to hand over authority in Iraq to an interim government on June 30, help establish security, continue rebuilding the country's infrastructure, encourage more international support and then move toward a national Iraqi election as early as next January. He did not announce the names of a new prime minister or other top Iraqi government officials, but promised that they would be released later this week by Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy to Iraq.
In a 33-minute address at the United States Army War College in the farmland of south-central Pennsylvania, the president said: "I sent American troops to Iraq to defend our security, not to stay as an occupying power. I sent American troops to Iraq to make its people free, not to make them American. Iraqis will write their own history, and find their own way."
Mr. Bush said an essential part of rebuilding Iraq would be the creation of a modern prison system. He pledged, if the new Iraqi government agrees, to destroy the Abu Ghraib prison, a longtime symbol of the cruelty of Saddam Hussein's rule and now notorious as the site of abuses of Iraqi prisoners by members of the American military.
In making the case for persevering in Iraq, the president reminded Americans that, in his view, Iraq remained "the central front in the war on terror."
Mr. Bush also held out little hope for a quick withdrawal of American soldiers, and said he would maintain troop levels of 138,000 "as long as necessary." If American commanders on the ground needed more troops, Mr. Bush said, "I will send them."
Mr. Bush's speech, the first in a series of major addresses meant to shore up support for his Iraq policy before the June 30 deadline, was as much a political event as a policy address. It came in the wake of a poll by CBS News that showed Mr. Bush's approval ratings at a new low, with 41 percent approving of the job he is doing and 52 percent disapproving.
The president, who was apparently wearing makeup to cover abrasions on his chin from a fall from his mountain bike last weekend, seemed confident and calm throughout his remarks, which were interrupted periodically by applause. The biggest applause came when Mr. Bush said the United States would raze the Abu Ghraib prison.
SOURCE: The New York Times
I know exactly how the President feels.
When I was about 12 years old I got caught sodomising a dead cat in my cubby house. I was so ashamed of what I had done that the next day I took matches and a can of gasoline and burnt my cubby house to the ground.
And i think to myself.... "Good on ya George Bush Jnr" for doing the same thing in Iraq. Not proud of what went on at Abu Ghraib? Want people to hurry up and forget about all the terrible things that you did there? Slightly ashamed? TEAR THE FUCKING JOINT DOWN! Thats the spirit! Sure worked for me. You wouldn't believe how quickly your mother forgets about the fact that she caught you in a compromising position with a piece of roadkill when the following day you burn down your cubby house and almost set fire to the house! And i'm sure George understands this principle also. Burn Abu Ghraib down to the ground. Out of sight, out of mind.
The only concern is what happens when the President realizes that the entire war, the whole American involvement in Iraq, is one huge embarrassment?
Fucking hell. I would give my left testicle to be holding a video camera in my hand, while watching the President of the United States fall off a mountain bike. Just to watch that glorious moment where he wobbles slightly as he is about to stack it. To see that expression of fear and dread on his face as he realizes he is about to fall off, and then see him go arse over tit and fall off his bike as I record the whole thing on mini DV. Jesus Christ how much would that piece of footage be worth? Imagine how much you could sell it to Al Jazeera for?
PS. I'm joking about the above anecdotes regarding me as a 12 year old. I was more like 16.
Posted by ExistAngst at May 25, 2004 06:52 PM