DubyaSpeak.com : Dubya at War

Many, many families look at me trying to determine whether or not, one, I believed that it [the war in Iraq] was necessary, and two, whether or not I'm going to let their son or daughter kind of lie in an empty grave when it comes to the sacrifice they made.

Exactly what kinds of graves would Dubya propose those sons and daughters lie in? Occupied ones? Rome, Italy, Jun. 13, 2008

Just think about what life was like in Afghanistan under the Taliban, with al Qaeda driving the agenda. This is where girls have no rights. You can't worship freely. This is a very dark, grim vision that they believe they must spread far and wide. That's what they think. And one way they achieve their objectives, of course, is to intimidate by death. There's no rules with these people. There's just — so America has got to understand that in order to find them we've got to get in their heads. If you're facing a nation, you can find the nation. If you're facing people that burry in failed states you've got to understand how to find them.

Burry... not sure what that means, and neither did the White House transcriber who left it in as-is with a "(sic)" after it. Maryland Heights, Missouri, May 2, 2008

During the recent fighting in the Basra province, our nations coordinated our support for the Iraqi security forces as they took on extremists and criminals. Most thankful for the brilliance of the British helicopter crews that fired under courage and helped evacuate wounded Iraqi soldiers.

If that makes sense to you, that makes one of us. White House, Apr. 17, 2008

Afghanistan is the most daring and ambition mission in the history of NATO.

At least it rhymed with mission... Bucharest, Romania, Apr. 2, 2008

And this is a good test for them [the Iraqis]. And of course, routing out these folks who've burrowed in society, who take advantage of the ability to be criminals, or the ability to intimidate citizens, is going to take a while.

One of numerous instances where Dubya refers to terrorists/enemies as "folks". White House, Mar. 28, 2008

And so this [the war in Iraq] is vital for our national interests. And I'm confident we can succeed, unless we lose our nerve, unless we allow politics to get in the way of making the necessary decisions, which I have vowed to our military and our civilians in Iraq that that's not going to be the case so long as I'm the President.

As long as Dubya can categorically claim that politics had nothing to do with starting the war in the first place — and I can believe him when he says that — I can go along with this statement... White House, Mar. 28, 2008

STEVEN LEE MYERS (New York Times): Thank you, Mr. President. I wonder if you could talk a little bit more about Iraq and how it's — you mentioned criminal elements that are being fought against now. How concerned are you that the violence now reflects, in fact, a deepening political and civil, even ethnic conflict inside of Iraq? How much now are American forces being drawn into the fighting in the last just few hours even? And how is it going to affect your decision looming on the way ahead? And if I could ask you both, please, to talk a little bit about the crackdown in Tibet and how you see that affecting relations with China. Thank you.
DUBYA: Any other subjects you want to wedge in there? Repeat some of those things. You had about five different things. I'm getting old, Steven. Wait a minute, look — yes, I talked about criminal elements. And one of those things that's been well known is that Basra has been a place where criminality has thrived. It's a port, a lot of goods and services go through there. And there was — from the beginning of liberation, there have been criminal elements that have had a pretty free hand in Basra. It was just a matter of time before the government was going to have to deal with it.... And so we are taking troops out, just like the Australians are, because we're being successful. And his question — Steven Lee's question was, well, are you going to bring any further out? Not, are you going to bring any out; are you going to bring any further troops out — from that which we committed to do earlier. And the answer is, it depends on what our commanders say, and the folks in Washington say, and it depends upon conditions on the ground. His real question was, have the conditions changed such that you believe your commander is going to make a different recommendation that he might have two days ago? And I can't answer that question.

Not only does he attribute a different question than what was asked him by the reporter, he also declines to answer it! White House, Mar. 28, 2008

Removing Saddam Hussein was the right decision early in my presidency. It is the right decision now, and it will be the right decision ever.

Dubya offers a grammatically-challenged defense of his war policy, Washington, D.C., Mar. 12, 2008

Folks who were involved in the insurgency have now decided they want to be a part of their government.

It still doesn't make any sense, but Dubya never overlooks an opportunity to refer to terrorists as folks. Nashville, Tennessee, Mar. 11, 2008

And so, [Lieutenant] General [Ray Odierno], I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq.

I hope that isn't what the General did... White House, Mar. 3, 2008

The security situation has certainly improved, the political situation is getting better and the economy is beginning to improve. But it takes a while to recover from a tyrannical situation.

Note: He's talking about Iraq. White House, Jan. 24, 2008

They don't know what they're talking about.

Dubya's answer to those who criticize him for not doing enough to locate Osama bin Laden, White House, Jan. 24, 2008

There is no doubt in my mind when history was written, the final page will say victory was achieved by the United States of America for the good of the world.

Dubya predicts the future in the past tense, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Jan. 12, 2008

I 'ppreciate what this, uhh, Third Army did in World War II. I hope you do too, as well. After all, you're members of Patton's own. Played a vital role in the destruction of the Nazi war machine. They helped liberate about 12,000 towns, at least that's according to the history of the Third Army. From their noble ranks came soldiers with some of our nation's highest directors, including 19 recipients of the Medal of Honor. You repre — distinguished history, and you're makin' history yourselves.

A lot of slop to wade through here. Listen for the full effect. Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Jan. 12, 2008

I don't know how he [President Assad] interprets these meetings, but one thing he can't be mistaken about is the position of the U.S. government, the White House. And our position is, is that you [Syria] can have better relations, a better way forward with the United States, but you have got to get out of Lebanon, in terms of the presidential elections, and stop harboring Hamas, stop letting suiciders go into Iraq, and there's a better way forward.

Dubya ushers in the new year with a repeat offense that he refuses to retire, White House, Jan. 6, 2008