Bush's Speech in Ohio
CLEVELAND Mar 20, 2006 (AP)— President Bush on Monday cited success in stabilizing an insurgent stronghold in northern Iraq, saying he has "confidence in our strategy" and critics should look beyond the images of violence to see clear signs of progress.
Bush tried a new tactic to boost sagging support for the war, relating to his audience in Cleveland a lengthy story about a campaign to rid the northern city of Tal Afar of terrorism against civilians. Success there "gives reason for hope for a free Iraq," he said.
Bush described how the insurgents who have been using murder and intimidation to run roughshod over the city now have been killed or captured by Iraqi forces and coalition troops working together.
The president's detailed description of the campaign and the eventual success story was meant to underscore another point the White House is trying to make: evidence of progress is more difficult than daily bombings and deaths to capture in media sound bites.
"In the face of continued reports about killings and reprisals, I understand how some Americans have had their confidence shaken," Bush told the City Club of Cleveland. "Others look at the violence they see each night on their television screens and they wonder how I can remain so optimistic about the prospects of success in Iraq. They wonder what I see that they don't."
Bush devoted a considerable amount of his appearance to taking questions from the audience in this Democratic leaning city. Right off the bat, he was challenged on his Christian viewpoint and whether he sees terrorism as a sign of the Apocalypse (he said he never thought of it that way) and how he restores confidence in U.S. leadership after the the reasons he gave for going to war with Iraq later proved false.
"Like you, I mean, I asked that very same question: Where'd we go wrong on intelligence?" Bush said. He said he is working to improve intelligence gathering because "the credibility of our country is essential."
But Bush also got his share of softballs, too he was invited back to for the Cleveland Hungarian Revolution 50th Anniversary and was complimented on his vision for a nuclear treaty with India and for his "very englightening" comments about Iraq.
Read more here http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory
Bush tried a new tactic to boost sagging support for the war, relating to his audience in Cleveland a lengthy story about a campaign to rid the northern city of Tal Afar of terrorism against civilians. Success there "gives reason for hope for a free Iraq," he said.
Bush described how the insurgents who have been using murder and intimidation to run roughshod over the city now have been killed or captured by Iraqi forces and coalition troops working together.
The president's detailed description of the campaign and the eventual success story was meant to underscore another point the White House is trying to make: evidence of progress is more difficult than daily bombings and deaths to capture in media sound bites.
"In the face of continued reports about killings and reprisals, I understand how some Americans have had their confidence shaken," Bush told the City Club of Cleveland. "Others look at the violence they see each night on their television screens and they wonder how I can remain so optimistic about the prospects of success in Iraq. They wonder what I see that they don't."
Bush devoted a considerable amount of his appearance to taking questions from the audience in this Democratic leaning city. Right off the bat, he was challenged on his Christian viewpoint and whether he sees terrorism as a sign of the Apocalypse (he said he never thought of it that way) and how he restores confidence in U.S. leadership after the the reasons he gave for going to war with Iraq later proved false.
"Like you, I mean, I asked that very same question: Where'd we go wrong on intelligence?" Bush said. He said he is working to improve intelligence gathering because "the credibility of our country is essential."
But Bush also got his share of softballs, too he was invited back to for the Cleveland Hungarian Revolution 50th Anniversary and was complimented on his vision for a nuclear treaty with India and for his "very englightening" comments about Iraq.
Read more here http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory
posted by Coleman Investments, LLC at 2:23 PM
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