Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Saturday, August 20, 2005

I like this guy

At the 73rd National Convention of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, as reported here
Every morning President Bush and I receive an
intelligence briefing that includes a review of the threats we face. The enemy that appeared on 9/11 is wounded, off-balance, and on the run, yet still very active, still seeking recruits, still trying to hit us.

Since 9/11 terrorists have continued to wage deadly attacks -- never as a conventional military force, but as a hidden element determined to slip in unnoticed, to shed innocent blood, and to shake the will of the civilized world.

In Bali, bombs in a commercial district killed more than 200. In
Riyadh, simultaneous suicide car bombings of civilian targets left 34 dead and many more injured. Since the mid-1990s in Jerusalem and in other cities in Israel, multiple suicide bombings have killed and maimed hundreds. In Casablanca, five separate attacks took the lives of over 40 civilians and hurt more than 100. In Jakarta, a blast in front of a hotel killed 13 and injured at least 150. In Istanbul, terrorists set off four trucks filled with explosives, killing approximately 60 people and injuring some 700 more. In Madrid, 10 bombs on commuter trains killed nearly 200 and wounded more than 1,800. Six weeks ago today in England, terrorists set off four explosions at rush hour, all of them targeted at commuters taking the train or the bus. The body count in central London was 56, including the bombers, together with another 700 injured. A few weeks later in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, suicide bombers in a commercial district killed as many as 90 people, and injured more than 100 others.

In Iraq, terrorists have slaughtered innocent people in marketplaces, in restaurants, in private homes, at police recruiting stations, in a hospital, and outside a mosque. They have beheaded bound men in front of cameras, and killed UN employees and international aid workers. Earlier this summer, as American soldiers were giving candy to children, a suicide bomber drove into the crowd, killing 18 boys and girls and an American soldier.

That's the nature of the enemy we face in the war on terror, and will face for the duration of this struggle. And our duty is clear. Killers who target innocent, unsuspecting men, women, and children on a peaceful street, or set off explosions during a morning rush hour, or fly passenger jets into buildings are not the kind of people you can bring to the bargaining table and sit down for a reasonable exchange of ideas. This is not a war we can win strictly on the defensive. Our only option against these enemies is to find them, to fight them, and to destroy them.
Exactly right.

And a salute to all the members of the Order. Thanks!

UPDATE: A Cheney run for president would have fringe benefits.

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