Thursday, October 19, 2006

Bush Admits Iraq is Another Vietnam...Kinda Sorta.


COOPER: North Korea, of course, isn't the only crisis the president is facing. In Iraq, October is on track to be the deadliest month, with 68 U.S. troop deaths so far.

In his column today, "New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman wrote that we might be seeing the equivalent of a Tet Offensive in Iraq. It is that kind of comparison to Vietnam that has, until now, drawn fire from the White House, but not tonight.

CNN's Elaine Quijano reports on the surprising shift in the White House rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Until now, the Bush White House has forcefully resisted any comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam. Yet in an ABC interview broadcast tonight, President Bush allowed this...

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Tom Friedman wrote in "The New York Times" this morning that what we might be seeing now is the Iraqi equivalent of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968.

Tony Snow this morning said he may be right. Do you agree?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He could be right. There's certainly a stepped up level of violence, and we're heading into an election.

QUIJANO: During the Tet Offensive, Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces launched a series of attacks on American troops. Even though it was a stunning military defeat for the guerrillas, Americans were shocked by the intense images of war.

And historians view Tet as the turning point, when public support for the conflict in Vietnam and President Johnson began to wane.

Nearly 40 years later, that history is not lost on President Bush.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But what's your gut tell you? BUSH: George, my gut tells me that they have all along being trying to inflict enough damage that we leave. And the leaders of al Qaeda have made that very clear.

QUIJANO: President Bush regularly acknowledges the effect of the war on the American psyche. This from a news conference last week.

BUSH: I fully understand the American people are seeing unspeakable violence on their TV screens. These are tough times in Iraq.

QUIJANO: In his recent comments, the president has argued that the violence there is being stoked by al Qaeda. Yet Mr. Bush rejected the notion that American troops are getting caught in a civil war. Civil acknowledging the bloodshed in sobering terms.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But whatever you call it, aren't American men and women now dying to prevent Sunnis and Shiites to kill one another?

BUSH: No, George, it's dangerous. You're right. No matter what you call it. The fundamental question is, are we on our way to achieving a goal, which is an Iraq that can defend itself, sustain itself and govern itself and be an ally in the war on terror in the heart of the Middle East?

QUIJANO (on camera): President Bush, of course, believes the answer to that is yes. Tonight, the president said he would be patient as Iraq's new government works to establish order. But without giving a time frame, he also made clear his patience has limits.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

The question begs to be asked...does Bush even know what the Tet Offensive was? My guess is he probably thinks it's some football strategy from the Texas A&M playbook.

Good news is that we only have 823 days until the jackass is out of office.

Thanks to All Things Anderson for the original screencap.

17 comentarios:

Anonymous said...

Jade - lol. I love rendition of that screencap -lol. I thought yesterdays 360 was outstanding. Michael Ware is the real deal. As for Bush -- he was probably told to say that by his advisors since it's getting close to elections and they look like jackasses denying the obvious. But yeah, they probably forgot to explain him what Tet Offensive was in too much detail, so he had to guess the rest -- lol.

After seeing that it shouldn't be surprising that there are more brilliant republicans in the lower tier of power, like Rep. Pete King, congressman from NY. He said the other day that being in Baghdad is like being in Manhattan. Originally it was on crooks and liars and I saw it on huffpoRead this. This is beyond dumb. I'm ashamed this moron repsesents NY. I would pay to see him telling this to Michael Ware. it makes yesterday's show even more important.

Jade, the bad news is 823 days is plenty for that "jackass" & co to do a lot more damage.

Jennifer said...

Glad you like the cap!

MediaDoc said...

You just made my day!

Anonymous said...

Someone is trying so hard it is painful to watch. They should stay in the gutter. Nice post.

MediaDoc said...

Last night intro sent chills down my spine. It was absolutely great and the kind of perspective the world needs. People have to get rid of the sugar coated information that it is "surgically"presented to them.
The government went to great extends to avoid the publication of the photos of the funeral caskets returning from Afganistan and Iraq and now they on primetime tv videos of soldiers being killed by snipers.
CNN does it again. They brought the reality of war to our living rooms.
They should re install the draft, that would give meaning to Puff Daddy's phrase Vote or Die, youth would go to vote in hordes, and all the "soccer moms" that support the war as long it doesn't involve their kids, will think twice before voting for a pro war government.
Staying away from the voting booth is giving your back to all of those who are sacrificing their life for a non sense war.

MediaDoc said...

@Anon
Please refer to the blog rules at the buttom of our front page. Thanks.

courtney01 said...

I see your point, Chris, but I don't want the draft reinstated because of the turmoil it created in this country during Vietnam. We think the country is divided now; if there were a draft, it would be a million times worse.

@anon:

Do you mean Anderson is trying too hard? I think he does the best he can with the info and latitude he's given.

Jennifer said...

Anon...I think you've mistaken our blog for someone else's. Thanks for the comments :)

Lee said...

I can’t believe some of the comments on the 360 blog about last night’s show. As most of you already know, I’m retired military and I see no difference between showing that video and showing Department of Defense video. I think it’s important for everyone to understand exactly what’s happening there. Anyone who wears a uniform knows the risks, as do their families and the insurgents certainly know what's going on so I don't see the problem.

Anonymous said...

@christiane -- Congrats on your post going through on 360 blog. It's a great one. I agree with you 100%.

@lee- I don't get the hysteria also. Most people who were outraged clearly did not see yesterday's program that put the video in perspective. I bet same people would cheer if they showed same type of video of american military shooting at insurgents.

@courtney -- I don't think anybody's for the draft but if it was brought back I bet it would wake up a lot of people and make them use their brain a bit more.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

@anon -- are you the same anon from 1:44?
I'm glad you have time to read this blog, ATA and 152 comments on 360 blog. And to ask others if they have anything else to do.

Anonymous said...

I'm wondering if Anderson will make it to tonight's show considering his engagement @ an event.

Jennifer said...

I've read a sampling of posts from the "360" blog, including those that weren't posted and I'm utterly amazed at the difference of opinions.

The world is a really ugly place. Media in general has spoiled people with pleasantry. So much so, that the truth is too difficult for most to watch. My wish is for citizens to open their eyes, question those in power and DEMAND CHANGE! Until the our country wakes-up, nothing will be any better and people will continue to die so the POTUS can save face.

I don't think this is what our founding fathers envisioned for us when democracy became our reality.

MediaDoc said...

@anon
Last time. Please refer to the rules of this blog. We do not engage in flame wars.

Sheryn said...

823 days??? OY! That is far too long! There is so much more damage they can do before their time is up!

Have you seen the new commercials out that say, "Please Don't Vote!" And then they go on to say "Until you know the issues!" Its a perfect campaign! Its what I've been saying for years now! God people don't vote "The Devil That You Know!"

Look what has happened to this country in 6 short years.

BTW, Chris you should try moderating your comments. It slows down the conversational aspect of comments but then you don't have to worry about unwanted commenters. Its worked really well for other blogs!

eliza said...

Christiane, P. Diddy (that's what the kids are calling him these days) totally slacked on that whole vote or die thing. Only 60% of registered voters showed up at the polls last election and did he show up on the doorsteps of everyone else to take them out? No he did not. ;)

I haven't read the blog comments, but I knew the second they showed that video that they'd be getting a lot of hate mail. You think what's on the blog is bad, just imagine what they're getting that they can't post. That's why I sent them some email love to try to balance it out.

MANIFESTO

Don't think for me. Don't assume what I want to hear or read. Give me facts. Give me reasons. But not yours. Bring me debate. Enlighten me. Today, accountability is masked behind anonymity; bylines are hidden by zeros and ones. Everyone publishes; everyone is "in the know." Ethics are non-existent. Speculation is king. The truth is masked and a hostage. Empowered by our minds, WE ARE THE FREAKSPEAKERS!

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of environmental, political, news and humanitarian significance. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such material as provided in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with the title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this blog is distributed and available without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

If your obsession against us and our content endures, you might find more information at: Law.

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the blog owner.