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Bush: 'I Support Maliki'
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ShareAugust 22, 2007 3:06 PM
ABC News' Jon Garcia, Z. Byron Wolf and Jake Tapper Report: Scrambling to correct what the White House calls a case of misreporting of Tuesday's remarks, President Bush reiterated his support of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al -Maliki on Wednesday in plain language.
"Prime Minister Maliki is a good guy, good man with a difficult job and I support him," Bush told a crowd at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention on Wednesday. "And its not up to the politicians in Washington D.C. to say whether he will remain in his position. It is up to the Iraqi people, who now live in a democracy and not a dictatorship."
Watch the president's endorsement of Maliki HERE.
Bush added that United States support for all foreign leaders pressing for democracy is vital to his vision for victory and imperative to America's security.
"Across the Middle East, millions of ordinary citizens are tired of war. They're tired of dictatorship and corruption," Bush said. "These men and women are taking great risks to build free and peaceful Middle East and, for the sake of our own security, we must not abandon them."
While the President used his address to the annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri to correct the "misreporting" on Maliki, the speech itself was designed to draw historical context for why the United States needs to stay in Iraq. Bush cited carefully selected outcomes and scenarios from WWII, Korea and Vietnam. It is notable that the president drew on Vietnam as an example because in the past, administration officials have avoided the comparison to Vietnam. But, in the presence of several thousand veterans Wednesday, Bush embraced it:
"One unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like 'boat people,' 're-education camps,' and 'killing fields,' Bush said, arguing that following the same withdrawal strategy in Iraq would violate a moral obligation and put the U.S. in jeopardy.
Watch video HERE.
Many Democrats expressed outrage at Bush's Vietnam analogy Wednesday, including Rep. John Murtha, D- Penn., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D.Md., and presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden, D- Del. But, the strongest statement came from Sen. John Kerry, D. Mass., Bush's opponent in the 2004 presidential election.
"Invoking the tragedy of Vietnam to defend the failed policy in Iraq is as irresponsible as it is ignorant of the realities of both of those wars," said Kerry in a paper statement. "Half of the soldiers whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after the politicians knew our strategy would not work."
August 22, 2007 in Vote 2008: Democrats | Permalink | User Comments (9)
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Yesterday, he oppose him, today he praise him. What an idiot.
Posted by: marc | Aug 22, 2007 10:33:22 PM
Pack your things and leave the country Bush, you've caused enough damage to our country...nobody wants you here.
Posted by: Me | Aug 23, 2007 5:39:05 AM
I sometimes think I am watching a tv reality show when I see dubya and co in the news. They must not be aware that people can actually go back and view what they said yesterday on the "internets".
Posted by: Etap32i | Aug 23, 2007 8:29:53 AM
"I support Maliki"... as long as it is politically expedient. Poor Maliki. He hasn't learned the lesson from the likes of Tony Blair, Colin Powell and many others, that aligning yourself with this man is pure poison to your career. Ten to fifteen years from now a US president will be dealing with Mr. Maliki in much the same way we deal with Iran, Syria and Hussein's Iraq. He'll be a petty little tyrant who was once a puppet leader. We do it over and over again.
Posted by: DaveM | Aug 23, 2007 1:17:58 PM
I wonder why we are not surprised at this revelation. The old oxy-moron-this was brought together with 'military intelligence'. This govt is run by a bunch of them.
Posted by: william fearn | Aug 23, 2007 2:30:18 PM
What a bunch of cowards you are. The president is taking a great risk traveling to Iraq. While you bunch of whinning babies sit on you worthless butts and do nothing but bitch the president and many other brave souls are making a positive difference in the real world.
Posted by: DerekJ | Sep 3, 2007 9:48:49 AM
Maliki does have a difficult job...... I would not want it.
And, Dubya supports him........ what else can he say while he quietly works to get someone better. If he openly states he is working to get rid of him, Maliki will lose ALL of his meager ability to get change which requires political support.
Posted by: donbl | Sep 3, 2007 10:20:23 AM
Presidnet Bush has this WWII ExMarine's full support ---no politician today can brag of their intelligence quotient but he Can brag of his gut felt faith in this nation Under God, and the fact that his instincts aided by those HI IQ people who serve him, knows exactly what every red blooded true American should feel about this historical fight against Islamic Jihad led terrorism.
Posted by: Frank Morgan | Sep 3, 2007 10:53:57 AM
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