8.31.2005
Bush Calls Iraq War Moral Equivalent Of Allies' WWII Fight Against the Axis (WashingtonPost.com)
By Peter Baker and Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 31, 2005; Page A07
CORONADO, Calif., Aug. 30 -- Invoking the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Bush on Tuesday cast the war in Iraq as the modern-day moral equivalent of the struggle against Nazi fascism and Japanese imperialism in World War II, arguing that the United States cannot retreat without disastrous consequences.
Bush used a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the victory over Japan to try to fortify public will at a time of unremitting violence in Iraq. It was third time in the last week that he has delivered a stay-the-course speech to counter an energized antiwar sentiment. Speaking at a naval base near the docked USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Bush characterized Iraqi insurgents as every bit a "ruthless" enemy as the Germans and the Japanese.
"Now, as then, they are trying to intimidate free people and break our will, and now, as then, they will fail," Bush said to applauding sailors in white uniforms and Marines in camouflage. "They will fail, because the terrorists of our century are making the same mistake that the followers of other totalitarian ideologies made in the last century. They believe that democracies are inherently weak and corrupt and can be brought to their knees." But, he added, "America will not run in defeat, and we will not forget our responsibilities."
(More ... Bush Calls Iraq War Moral Equivalent Of Allies' WWII Fight Against the Axis) ¶ 19:57
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 31, 2005; Page A07
CORONADO, Calif., Aug. 30 -- Invoking the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Bush on Tuesday cast the war in Iraq as the modern-day moral equivalent of the struggle against Nazi fascism and Japanese imperialism in World War II, arguing that the United States cannot retreat without disastrous consequences.
Bush used a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the victory over Japan to try to fortify public will at a time of unremitting violence in Iraq. It was third time in the last week that he has delivered a stay-the-course speech to counter an energized antiwar sentiment. Speaking at a naval base near the docked USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, Bush characterized Iraqi insurgents as every bit a "ruthless" enemy as the Germans and the Japanese.
"Now, as then, they are trying to intimidate free people and break our will, and now, as then, they will fail," Bush said to applauding sailors in white uniforms and Marines in camouflage. "They will fail, because the terrorists of our century are making the same mistake that the followers of other totalitarian ideologies made in the last century. They believe that democracies are inherently weak and corrupt and can be brought to their knees." But, he added, "America will not run in defeat, and we will not forget our responsibilities."
(More ... Bush Calls Iraq War Moral Equivalent Of Allies' WWII Fight Against the Axis) ¶ 19:57
