Cheney, who spoke from Muscat, Oman, shortly after he visited Iraq to assess the success of the U.S. troop build-up there, also said public opposition to the Iraq war should not affect how it is conducted.

The interview was aired on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Informed that two-thirds of Americans now think the war was not worth fighting, Cheney said: "So?"

Telling is it not? The Bush/Cheney response that the overwhelming majority of Americans want an end to the death of our soldiers and the best they can come up with is so!

"I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."

This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings, assassinations, or IED attacks. Our enemies in Iraq will make every effort to ensure that our television screens are filled with images of death and suffering. Yet over time, we can expect to see Iraqi troops chasing down murderers, fewer brazen acts of terror, and growing trust and cooperation from Baghdad's residents. When this happens, daily life will improve, Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders, and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Most of Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace -- and reducing the violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible.

A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So 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.HASN'T HAPPENED To give every Iraqi citizen a stake in the country's economy, Iraq will pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis.HASN'T HAPPENED To show that it is committed to delivering a better life, the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction and infrastructure projects that will create new jobs.HASN'T HAPPENED To empower local leaders, Iraqis plan to hold provincial elections later this year. HASN'T HAPPENEDAnd to allow more Iraqis to re-enter their nation's political life, the government will reform de-Baathification laws,HASN'T HAPPENED (law passed with opposite effect) and establish a fair process for considering amendments to Iraq's constitution."HASN'T HAPPENED

George W Bush January 10, 2007

Time to move the goal posts again....

The dollar is no longer the currency of the globe, financial markets are in freefall, foreclosures are at a record level, the United States has lost prestige and influence throught the world, and we are still stuck in a tar-baby of a senseless and wrong-headed war of aggression and choice. If Bush were a horse they'd make glue out of him.

“By defeating al Qaeda in Iraq, we will show the world that al Qaeda is the weak horse,’’ said Bush

Whooo-heee!!! Ride em', cowboy.

What a moron. Never mind there was no such thing as "AlQaeda in Iraq" before the immoral war.

Will this idiot ever stop lying? And what is up with the word "treasure"? Are we fighting Black Bart? The only upside to his mess is that Dubya's forced retirement is just around the corner.

Has anyone noticed how all of a sudden Iraq is the focus again? Wonder why....
it's not the anniversary, it's that with the economy in the dumper, and the republican candidate in his own words saying he doesn't have a clue about economics, this is all they have to spin.

“Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate about whether the war was worth fighting… and whether we can win it,’’ he said. “This is a fight America can and must win.’’
~GWB

Pretty much sums it up. I'm sure my comments will be taken and twisted, but I think his noting that the reason for entering the war was debatable acknowledges that fact fairly along with the fact that America must continue and not give victory to the Islamic terrorists visiting from Syria, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and wherever else. That would be a foolish foolish foolish mistake... worse than any mistake that has already been made during the execution of this war.
On the topic of Osama... he's better off not being a martyr in my opinion. He indicated he won't be taken alive and that would only invigorate his loyalists. Keep the pressure on, but capturing isnt vital. Al Qaeda has been managed without that achievement. The same people that say we'll never catch Osama are the same that say we'd never catch Saddam, Udai, and Qusay (or whatever that rapist punks name was). Just relax, you defeatists! We'll be just fine in the end.

Treasure!? who does he think he is? Johnny Depp?

I guess he is right though, he is a pirate.

Ahoy matey!

Good thing our economy is so strong right now. It's no problem tearing dowm and rebuilding another country for such a popular cause.

What does it mean to "win" this war?

Fortunately, five years from today, Mr. Bush will be out-of-office forever, and American troops will be out of Iraq. However, we will still be trying to correct his many blunders as President.

As Georgie's boss put it, "So?"

America will win on January 20, 2009 when this miserable failure slinks off to Crawford, Texas for good.

Notice how bush is ending his run without having forun Osama BinLaden and is no longer talking about finding him.

If these foreign Islamic Fascists ever have their way, they will have the world living in hell...no music no booze no television and here's s good one..... no applauding at sports events!! Now isn't it better to quash these meat-heads right now, than wait till they're coming right up to our shores? And they will! You can't reason with these losers, so you've just got to kill them. What's really killing Islam, is the silence of the masses. The supposed "good" Muslims who don't want war. Maybe they need to break that silence and start fighting this misconstrued bunch of idiots themselves!

Now isn't it better to quash these meat-heads right now, than wait till they're coming right up to our shores?
Posted by: flossmore | March 19, 2008 12:05 PM

How far do camels swim?

ah yes, hell...... as flossmore states "no music no booze no television and here's a good one..... no applauding at sports events!"
and ya wonder why most of America doesn't remember there's a war on? we've lost sight of the goals!
music, booze, tv and applauding at sporting events (really???)
don't want no foreigners showing up on our shores in boats and takin' our tvs!!!!! we have the FCC for that.
what a butthole

1. Get yourself a copy of the board game “Risk”
2. Super impose a current map of the middle-east on it.
3. Distribute military strength to resemble the balance of power before the war.
4. Play the game.

You will see that by taking out Iraq and Afghanistan no nation can effectively attack Israel.

Syria is too weak, Egypt too. Iraq with the largest military is gone. Iran is totally surrounded and incapacitated.

So in one fell swoop, by taking out Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush strategically stabilized the Middle-East.

Anyone who didn’t put 2 and 2 together as soon as the boots were on the ground is "Strategically speaking" an idiot and should never comment about anything military related.

This was a text book maneuver and it was executed flawlessly in the context of war.

Yes we will be at war for the next 1000 years.
We have been at war for the last 2000-4000 years,
since the time of Ishmael.
You were just sleeping.

Wake up.

than wait till they're coming right up to our shores?

Posted by: flossmore

And where are they getting the navy to do this with? I haven't sen too many ships in the desert.

than wait till they're coming right up to our shores?

Posted by: flossmore

And where are they getting the navy to do this with? I haven't seen too many ships in the desert.

than wait till they're coming right up to our shores?

Posted by: flossmore

And where are they getting the navy to do this with? I haven't seen too many ships in the desert.

Rex,

Congratulations. That was the dumbest post of the year to date.

"When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

Insane.

Rex, this isn't a game. Real lives are being lost. Real money is being spent. And if you think that area of the world is more stable, you're just fooling yourself.

gee, glad we have SOMETHING to look forward to for at least the next 1000 years.
now if only life would follow the rules of a freakin' board game, i could play LIFE and never have to work again.

lochness monster... be patient. you crap isn't worth reading once, let alone once 3 times.

Flossmore - fascism was supposed to have died with Hitler and Mussolini. These extremists are no different than Parsley's extremist attitude "to destroy Islam" - so Christian of him. Your comments underline a racist attitude.

P.S. 9/11 would not have happened had we not decided to set up camp on Islamic land in Saudi Arabia and cause the first Persian Gulf War which was orchestrated so that the Bush family could protect their oil revenues. It had nothing to do with Iraq invading Kuwait becuase the American ambassador to Iraq knew that the Iraqis had justifiable reason for a Kuwait incursion which Bush, the father, used to his advantage to line the pockets of his military/indutrial/oil buddies as his son GWB has done. Fascism is in your own backyard and you can't even see it.

Naive Americans like you are the reasons this current administration (Bush/Cheney) has the audacity to say "So" when confronted with the fact that most of the polls indicate the majority of Americans want this bogus war to end.

Obama got it right. A lot of sheets are still hiding in some closets.

Every time this grinning buffoon speaks he embarrasses the USA before the entire world. Every time he acts he brings death and disaster to all he touches. You know things are bad when Bush prefers to talk about Iraq than the economy. His supporters can be regarded as delusional at best. They are lovers of war who don't quite have the stomach for the fight. Just like Bush and his draft-dodging team. If the constitution of America was worth anything to Americans this entire administration would be jailed.

Rex, In Risk, if you put more than half of your military in Iraq you will be watching your oponents take over the rest of the world.

Maybe it's just me but, didn't we already declare victory on this "war"?

Yes we will be at war for the next 1000 years.
We have been at war for the last 2000-4000 years,
since the time of Ishmael.
You were just sleeping.

Wake up.

Posted by: Rex | March 19, 2008 12:25 PM

WE have been at war for 2000 - 4000 years? What you mean "WE," paleface??

THEY have been at war (with each other) for at LEAST 4000 years, and that has exactly WHAT TO DO WITH US?

George Bush has never had a clue what Al Qaeda is. He just reads speeches written
by his speechwriter whose job is to present Bush's
failures as success for domestic consumption on the
anniversary of the 2003 anniversary of the Iraqi catastrophic invasion.

For starters, Al Qaeda was a
"weak horse" during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and the U.S.
made it strong through CIA
delivery of Stinger missiles, RPGs, mines, a full array of other weaponry and munitions, and
tons of cash to contain Soviet Communism. And when the Russians left Afghanistan, Al Qaeda turned all it experience and resources
against the U.S. and its puppet allies.

Is Al Qaeda a "weaker horse"
today because we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq? No.
Al Qaeda may not train openly in camps, and it doesn't flash
its fighting commandos on video as it used to do. But it does so underground, and
with its spread in other continents and countries, and with its clandestine communications outside the
cellphone networks, it has become virtually invisible
to both satellite imagery and airwaves spying. That is not a "weak horse"; Al Qaeda has actually left us
blind-folded.

Al Qaeda was non-existent in Iraq. After the U.S. invasion, Arabs and other Muslims volunteers flocked into Iraq heeding the call of Imams across the Muslim world to fight the "Great Satan," the U.S. And they went, untrained but ready to die for Islam, but that was not an Al Qaeda operation. The fighters joined Sunni groups fighting the U.S. under the
clandestine command of Imbrahim Abduri, Saddam's Vice President, who escaped and whose whereabouts are still unknown. Al Qaeda announced later that it appointed Zarqwavi as its
representative there for
recruiting purposes.

Is Al Qaeda a "weaker horse" today -as Bush claims? No. Al Qaeda has been transformed into a global clandestine underground organization
that will thrive better than it did when it advertised its prowess and its top commanders. We got them, but they learned the lesson, dropped away their cellphones, and now we have no clue where their next attack will come from -and neither does George Bush.
We used to have Al Qaeda in our cross-hairs before Afghanistan and Iraq. Now,
Al Qaeda's No. 2 Al Zwahiri
appears on video on Al Jazeera taunting Bush to "come and get me." Ronald Reagan used to tell
terrorists: "You can run, but you cannot hide." Well,
they can, George.
Nikos Retsos, retired academic.

Rex, In Risk, if you put more than half of your military in Iraq you will be watching your oponents take over the rest of the world.

Posted by: pd | March 19, 2008 1:00 PM

Good job explaining it in the only terms that Rex can understand.

Beyond that, it of course remains open to question whether protecting Israel is really such an important objective for us. Maybe we should just make Israel and Iraq our 51st and 52nd states.

yes, indeedy, bu$h is going to be a wealthy man when this country is finally rid of him.

yes, indeedy, bu$h is going to be a wealthy man when this country is finally rid of him. Bu$h & Cheney could care less what the American people think or do or say. Lives have been destroyed and our economy is in ruins and all Cheney has to say is " so ? " Both of them should have been impeached when this war was first started by them.

I think most of us are just burned out and patiently waiting until the election so we can talk to him and Cheny.

Sure, the high costs in lives and treasure are worthwhile...as long as they are not his AWOL or his buddie’s multiple draft deferment lives, who are going to nevertheless get fat retirement pensions despite the loss of treasure.

As for “our enemies in Iraq”...they came to Iraq after we did, and bushie used that country for his private battleground. Better their civilian casualties than ours, plus we get ops on Iraq’s oil policies.

And nobody is demanding an “immediate troop withdrawal”. More lies from a habitual liar.

The man is clearly insane, put in power along with his puppets by a gullible American public, most of whom cannot even find Iraq on a map. The genius of Karl Rove was recognizing the extreme gullibility and incompetence that exists in roughly a third of the American public, and the skip and a jump from there to a majority vote.

Until votes in a democracy are weighed according to education, community service, citizenship status, age, time in country, and criminal record, we will always have a sub-prime civilian leadership endangering the World and stripping away the rights of American citizens at home.

Maybe we should just make Israel and Iraq our 51st and 52nd states.

Posted by: a blinkin | March 19, 2008 1:13 PM

now your thinkin... old Abe always comes through for us!!

Until votes in a democracy are weighed according to education, community service, citizenship status, age, time in country, and criminal record, we will always have a sub-prime civilian leadership endangering the World and stripping away the rights of American citizens at home.

Posted by: theantibush | March 19, 2008 1:47 PM

This plan would certainly thin out a whole lot of the democrats various coalition blocs of voters.

Bush has already shown us who the horse's ass is.

'Weak horse'?
Is he working on another 'trifecta'??

The leader of that "weak horse" is about to rub it in Dubya's face again:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-03-19-alqaeda-binladen_N.htm

I guess the humiliation of "bring it on" wasn't enough.