Bush regarding the strain on the troops and their families: "the biggest stress would be defeat."

[sabra]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/966wnclh.asp

My Answer Is No"
A conversation with President Bush.
by William Kristol


I SPENT ABOUT 40 minutes with President Bush in the Oval Office late yesterday afternoon, in a meeting whose purpose was to allow the president to preview the Iraq speech he's giving today.

We ended up spending more than half the time on other matters. The president recounted some of the behind-the-scenes negotiations at the recent NATO summit. He discussed his phone conversation yesterday with Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, a previous conversation with Chinese president Hu Jintao about the Olympics, and earlier conversations with Arab leaders about Iran. As we were breaking up, the president also offered a few thoughts on the presidential race. The president was forthcoming---and impressive--in discussing these sensitive topics. Unfortunately, he--sometimes prodded by his attentive press secretary, Dana Perino--put these parts of the session off the record.

So you'll have to take my word for it: The president is an interesting man with whom to have an off-the-record conversation about foreign affairs and American politics.

...

The president also emphasized that getting to 15 brigades would allow for a rotation schedule for the active force of one year in, one year out. That, he said, would "begin to handle this issue of stress." The president explained that he sympathized with the strain on the troops and their families. But, he said, "the biggest stress would be defeat." And he asked his national security adviser Stephen Hadley for a copy of an-almost-final draft of his speech in order to read a couple of sentences from the text to make the point: "Our troops want to win in Iraq, and we can see that desire in the gains in recruiting and retention since the surge began. And the surest way to depress morale and weaken the force would be to lose in Iraq."

...

I told the president that I had choked up watching the ceremony on television. I'll violate the off-the-record rules in order to convey the tenor of the president's lengthy response. He explained how difficult it had been for him to keep his composure. This was especially the case, he said, when he was congratulating and comforting Petty Officer Mansoor's parents (this was evident on television). What wasn't evident on the telecast was that when the president was reading his remarks and looked up at the audience, he saw the Navy SEALs assembled in the East Room, to a man, weeping. That's when, the president said, he really had to steel himself to retain his composure. The president had a catch in his voice yesterday, 24 hours later, talking about the ceremony.

:puke:

[kenny blankenship]

1. Like he ever gave a damn about their feelings

"Go forth and die for me and my oil patch cronies. Oh and have a nice day."

[Mountainman]

2. I'll second that

:puke:

[midnight]

3. It depends on what one defines as defeat. Bring the troops

home so they can be with their loved ones is not defeat. Prolonging death and destruction is defeat.......

[harun]

7. They haven't defined defeat or victory the whole time of occupation. except of course

saying that putting Dem's in charge equals defeat no matter what course they take, which is b*llsh*t.

[nykym]

4. It just might have

been a fleeting moment of guilt for what he has done, Now back to business.

[cynatnite]

5. Hmm...and I thought the fear of my nephew dying was tough...

All I've got to say is 'fuck you very much, mr. bush'. :grr:

[dysfunctional press]

6. moreso than being lied into death for oil company profits? who'da thunk it?

:shrug:

[ProfessorGAC]

8. WHY DOES BUSH HATE THE TROOPS?

It's Bush who is disrespecting the troops!!!

The military has one job. To kick ass when america or its interests or allies are directly threatened.

Now, we can certainly argue whether Iraq was a direct threat to anyone of those things, but once the military got there, they had one job to do, and they did it in a week.

So, anyone who says that we have to stay until we "win" is disrespedting the troops, because THEY ALREADY WON! If you already won, you can't lose it after the fact.

There is no victory to be obtained if you've already won.

Why does Bush hate the troops?
The Professor

[JohnnyLib2]

9. In Bush's world, there will never be defeat, so no problem.

His statement makes me more determined than ever to elect either of our candidates. :grr:

[Solly Mack]

10. He has no clue