Aides Prodded Reluctant Bush on Iraq Trip

[kskiska]

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - For a president fond of a tough-guy image, George W. Bush was uneasy when an aide casually asked him, "You want to go to Baghdad?"

With Bush safely back at his Crawford ranch on Friday, White House supporters seized on the U.S. Thanksgiving Day visit to Iraq as a public-relations coup that could boost troop morale and Republican fund raising.

(snip)

It was White House chief of staff Andrew Card who first proposed the surprise trip -- not the president.

"Andy (Card), as he often does, said (to Bush) almost in passing: 'Thanksgiving's coming up. Where do you want to go? You want to go to Baghdad?"' Rice recalled, and the planning got under way.

Seven months after his dramatic landing in a flight suit on the USS Abraham Lincoln with its "Mission Accomplished" banner, Bush conceded about the Iraq visit, "I was the biggest skeptic of all."

Instead of a flight suit, Bush wore a standard Army jacket to meet with the troops, and acknowledged he thought "all along" it might be too risky and that he "had a lot of questions" about security.

Bush aides considered scrapping the visit less than a week ago after a DHL cargo plane, landing at the same airport, was hit by a surface-to-air missile.

(snip)

Rice said the president was concerned about his own security as well as the possibility the visit would increase the risk to front-line troops.

more…
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=EXNS34V3O5E1CCRBAEOCFFA?type=politicsNews&storyID=3908769

[patdem]

1. This all can be very true..but was not mentioned till Hillary went

that is more factual than bush* did not tell his wife...yeach reight???

[supernova]

2. Actually, I'm glad he went and came back

brief as it was.

The brevity and closed nature of the visit is a legitimate debate point for us.

More importantly he wasn't made a martyr of while there. Think the * worship is sickening now? Just imagine him getting the JFK treatment. :scared:

[camero]

9. Another point we can use

He did not eat with the troops. He just gave them a turkey. (another one) Umm, did ya bring vests too, Mr. Bush. Figures.

[Ilsa]

43. Why do you think he was wearing that extra large Army jacket?

It was big and blousoned enough to hide a vest.

I didn't know he didn't eat with the troops.

And everyone is right about the short nature of the trip and his fear of making it: it reinforces how dangerous a place AWOL has made it for the troops and Iraqis. He should be required to stay a month, but I wouldn't want him martyred there.

[Whoa_Nelly]

48. * was running

from some threat...I really think that. I watched it when it happened, then just got home today from holiday, and watched the whole Baghdad trip on tape fast forward. The troops were allowed to mob him, totally surround him...when does that get to happen? He was deep in military protection. Whatever the threat was, he ran, was told to run. Maybe the threat was "removed", but the best place to be would be where he would be least expected, arrive totally "unexpectedly", (Rove had his back door covered...), and to be totally safe while surrounded deeply by hundreds of military.

The boy just did what he was told to do. The whole scene stinks to high heaven.

[Pallas180]

62. " He was deep in military protection." - Ahem. When does he ever

appear anywhere except in front of military/army/navy
groups? the resident can't appear or is afraid to appear
before the American people/public.

[Kinkistyle]

67. Serpentine! Serpentine!

Who else has the image of bush crouched over running in a zig-zag pattern from the helicopter to the mess-hall? :D

[The White Rose]

72. In America we kill turkeys at Thanksgiving.

Bush was just looking for safer ground.

[w13rd0]

3. Keep your head down, keep your head down...

...now break...ok, low, keep your head down...now break...

and they are just now managing to maintain a 49-49 split that LOST them the last election. And in every election since, despite the regional losses, the equation is pretty much the same. As quickly as a plan is formulated, that plan is countered. when we watch tv, we've been trained to know when there's a commercial break. solution, sell the products in the actual 'content' segments. heck, create 'content' segments around products, ideas, thoughts. sell, sell, sell. that they ADVERTISE that they are marketing demonstrates something. they think the average consumer WILL buy substandard crap as long as its in pretty well-hyped packaging. McDonalds...i love it! Or some such pablum. Presented with high quality in the plain brown wrapper and cheap plastic chickanery, which will the average consumer choose? Or will they just opt to stop shopping?

[LiberalFighter]

50. He didn't get his head down far enough

and in the right place

[Lisa]

4. "Rice said the president was concerned about his own security"

Full stop! The troops' safety hasn't been a biggie with him (e.g. "bring 'em on").

Well, if he now starts wondering whether Dick and Condie are trying to bump him off, maybe that's a good thing.

[calimary]

22. OF COURSE he was concerned about his own security.

That's all he's EVER concerned about. His OWN (fill in the blank here). He's ONLY ever concerned about himself. If he were truly concerned about other people's safety, he would have been asking if the troops are adequately supplied, and when are the reinforced humvees coming, and when can we get all the proper and NOT-defective haz-mat suits and flak jackets to our soldiers and when can they be relocated some place safer, and more.

NONE of that crossed his mind, I'd bet. What he was probably most concerned about was - whether it'll really make a useful photo-op. After all, the visit with the Queen didn't go so well and he must know everybody else knows it, too, and he DOES have a convention to primp and preen for.

[LiberalFighter]

51. But weren't they saying that security in Iraq had improved

And that was one of the points they were trying to prove?

[Malva Zebrina]

5. you know what this reminds me of

Christian urban legends. I do not know if any of you get these things in e-mails but I have received a few of them--the dead bird that comes to life and flies out of the little boy's hand--the diver who is on the diving board, whose shadow on the wall resembles the crucified christ-the miraculous cures-this story is beginning to look more and more like one of those.

[Lisa]

20. kind of like these?

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/glurge.asp

Actually, there are a few Bush-worshipping anecdotes in there too.

[Malva Zebrina]

41. Exactly!

.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. "uneasy", "might be too risky", "concerned about his own security"...

...Herr AWOL in all of his glory.

[UTUSN]

7. It Came from Wimpass Wuss CARD? Ha!

And Shrub had "a lot of questions"? How come he didn't have a lot of questions about security pre-9-11, or about the fake Iraq attack? Reluctant? Hah!----he eats up having an army of personal retainers protecting him and spending other people's dime.

[DesertSapper]

13. Clinton's shining example

I guess President Bush should have followed Clinton's lead on both Osama and Saddam . . . ignore 3 chances for bin Laden and hit a few of Saddam's palaces with cruise missiles. Very effective, huh? Bush should have believed the Clinton/Gore "everything is peachy - gimme 4 more years" speech. That duo spent more of my tax dollars than any team in history and DIDN'T give me GDP growth of 8.2% or a tax break/refund.

Wake up! The Islamofacists do not care who is Prez and will kill DU'ers as fast as Freepers!

Vote to replace Bush but that doesn't change the fact that Saddam and Osama were killing or funding the killing of Americans during Clinton's reign too.

Dean, Clark, Sharpton, whoever . . . we will still have to deal with the enemy better than Clinton did.

American first - Dem second. (don't get them confused)

[janx]

15. The Iraq War is based on a LIE.

You might not care about that, but most Americans do. We weren't finished with Afghanistan, and this moron marches our sons and daughters to finish his father's job. Now they are dying for a LIE. Don't you dare defend that moron on this board.

All the members of the Project for a New American Century were trying to realize their deluded dream of Imperialism. And now, just as Bush* is another LBJ, we have ourselves another Viet Nam.

That's not what this country is about. That is completely anti-American.

[Ernesto]

25. Wrong

bush could not even wipe LBJ's ass much less carry his jock strap.

[LiberalFighter]

52. All because they tried to off his daddy

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

16. Bush could have followed Clinton's lead on Kosovo where we won and lost

no troops. BTW, where are those WMD's (sucker) That's why you have to post here. It is easy to invoke Clinton. It is hard to be a true patriot and watch our servicemen and women use their blood as barter for the Whitehouse's oil Buddies....so let's hear it one more time from the rooftops:

BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK BLAME CLINTON'S COCK


Don't you fucking people play anything else on the jukebox?

[janx]

18. Freepers are coming out of the woodwork. I think it's because

they now have a thread over there devoted solely to DU and have made many links to it--various threads.

[Catshrink]

30. Did you hit alert on this freeper?

I did.... he picked on BigDawg.

[Maeve]

31. Someone did--he's sporting a tombstone! n/t

[Catshrink]

32. Delete please

I found the answer to my own question.... sorry mods.

[tabasco]

26. Of course you are aware that Bush and Ashcroft ...

were planning on CUTTING anti-terrorism funding in their budget proposal after coming into office. Yep, sounds like ol' Dubya was right on the case. They scrapped Clinton's sound plans to go after Bin Laden. In fact, Republicans cried that Clinton was "wagging the dog" anytime he did anything militarily against the Al Qaeda. Orrin Hatch said Clinton was "hysterical" for launching cruise missiles at suspected Al Qaeda base camps. Yep, those repugs are really smart about gettin' those terrorists. I was ALL FOR the Afghanistan invasion, but we relied on warlords and ONE DIVISION (10TH MTN) to get the people that bombed New York! We didn't get the job done there because the oil CEOs were too anxious to get into IRAQ! Now look at the situation and tell me who scrrewed it up, pal. It damn sure wasn't Clinton.

Combat Vet of the 10th Mountain Division

[Fovea]

28. Please explain to me in detail

What an IslamoFacist is, and how they differ from a FundieXtianNazi...
In particular, what are their nefarious goals. I want to be afraid, but can't seem to work up the necessary degree of terror to get me to go out and buy that SUV, or another sheet of plastic.

I am just a twitter with curiosity.

[DS1]

44. lol good one

:7

[PsychoDad]

70. Technically...

I guess IslamoFascism would be a strong link between Islam and corporations, to the extent of controling the media and all facets of daily life through the merger and control of Government, military and industry.
Something, that last I looked, was a western trend that Bin Laudin was fighting against. And may I add that his way of addressing the issue is completly against the teachings of Islam.

Sometimes I suspect that the "war" against Islam is an attempt to open up more markets in the Islamic world to western corporate control. The war is not against the religion of Islam, but against economic Islam. Notice how christanity here in the states has become nothing more than a business to many. Huge churches, bookstores, christian gift shops in malls. Where would Jesus Buy? Has christanity become no more that a marketing jingle? Is the religous right no more than a market?

Jesus, like Muhammid (peace be upon them), taught the importance of social responsibility. The need and obligation of a society to care for it's poor and disinfranchised. Both taught the sharing of wealth as a needed componant of salvation, of both the individual and society.

sorry, just my 2 cents

[bvar22]

33. Clinton's policy successful...bush*s invasion a failure.

The repubs have really backed themselves into a corner with their latest morph of The REAL reason we went to Iraq. After Millions of dollars and 7 months, the warmongering bush* administration has finally admitted:
Saddam had NO WMD, had NO ACTIVE PROGRAMS TO PRODUCE WMD, and had neither a system to deliver WMD, nor an active program to develop delivery systems. But, the bushies say, Saddam really, really wanted to get some, so the murder of 100,00 Iraqis and 425 US soldiers was justified.

Well, if Saddam really, really wanted to get WMD, and was unable to obtain any, it MUST have been because Bill Clinton's policy of containment, inspections, and surgical strikes was 100 per cent effective!!!!

OTOH: the bush* invasion of Iraq....Thousands of DEAD people, THOUSANDS of MAIMED people, $150Billion of money that YOUR children will pay, quagmire, chaos, NO Democracy so far, and if the chicken-in-chief ever gives the Iraqis anything like a REAL Democracy, the first thing the Iraqis will do is VOTE his* sorry ass OUT OF IRAQ!!!along with all his rich corporate piggy friends!!!!
So Far....Photo OP successful...

Bringing Democracy to Iraq????FAILURE!!!

Come on...even the freepers must be able to see this by now!

Dump the BOGUS POTUS!!

[LiberalFighter]

53. Hmmm question about Saddam's terror on his people

How many innocent civilians has Bush killed in Iraq via his war?
Doesn't that make him just as bad as Saddam killing his own people?

[lumpy]

35. The next ELECTEDpresident will have to clean

up the mess Bush has created in his attempts to dispose of BinLaden and Saddam Hussein, belay the enemies he has created and try to change the nasty reputation Bush has beqeathed to all Americans.
If you don't believe Bushco's bullying arrogant declarations that half the world is evil has affected US lives more then at any other time in our history you are living in a dream world.
No matter what you may believe, Clinton/Gore didn't throw the US into this quick sand of muddled up diplomacy using the point of a smart bomb.

[DS1]

42. Sap off

.

[Pallas180]

63. Dear Rush, you're absolutely right. It's all Big Dawg's fault.

isn't it a surprise that Rush the lush would come over
here to post?

[agincourt]

66. quit blabbing shit

on our board from right wing book of the month clubs. He didn't have no 3 chances at Osama. The boy Bush dropped the ball and Clinton is not in this equation. Get the fuck over Clinton for crying out loud.

[liberalmuse]

40. Card has more integrity..

than anyone in this entire administration...combined, and that isn't saying much.

[LiberalFighter]

54. Need a microscope

to see how much integrity Card has.

[remfan]

8. Gag

Choose wisely what you eat when it's being fed to you on a WH spoon.

[Myra]

10. This is excellent! And reuters no less.

"With Bush safely back at his Crawford ranch on Friday, White House supporters seized on the U.S. Thanksgiving Day visit to Iraq as a public-relations coup that could boost troop morale and Republican fund raising."

Bingo.

[David Zephyr]

11. 2 Men Afraid to Board Jets This Week: M. Jackson & G. Bush.

Michael and George have someting in common.

Bush only went to Iraq because Hillary (a woman) was going there and he had to "beat her to the punch".

How do you spell coward? B-U-S-H.

[janx]

12. Figures.

I am surprised, however, that Rice allowed herself to admit this to the press.

[janx]

14. First Rice says:

"Andy (Card), as he often does, said (to Bush) almost in passing: 'Thanksgiving's coming up. Where do you want to go? You want to go to Baghdad?"' Rice recalled, and the planning got under way.

Then:

Rice denied the trip was politically motivated. "This was generated out of the president and the policy side," she said, but declined to say if political adviser Karl Rove or Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman were among the handful of aides who knew about the trip.

And THEN:
"The (military) commanders still wanted this to go forward. And the president went around the room and just said, 'Do you still think this is the right thing to do?' And each of us thought it was the right thing to do," Rice said.

Why does Chimpy always toss her out there to handle the PR? She's terrible at it!

[Snellius]

17. Andy "you don't introduce new products in August" Card?

Mr. Marketing and PR.

[janx]

19. That's the one. Yep. Yet Condi says it was the policy people

who made the decision...Man, she is really awful at PR.

[Myra]

21. "Andy "you don't introduce new products in August" Card?"

But crappy defective old products, newly repackaged,
are introduced on Thanksgiving according to Card.

[robbedvoter]

23. Clark to answer on CNN at 10 tonight. Already stated:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17520-2003Nov27.html
"Chris Lehane, a strategist for retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark's presidential campaign, said Democrats would not fault Bush for visiting the troops.
'It's absolutely appropriate to be honoring our soldiers overseas in battle on a day like Thanksgiving,' he said. 'It's more important to honor them every day, which includes allowing us to appropriately honor the heroes who come back in caskets and giving our troops a strategy so they're not there next Thanksgiving.'"

[kskiska]

24. Sounds like they figured this one's a loser

and decided to take a pass on it.

[Boudica]

27. Bush could prove his bravery

Go back to England and defend the war during Question Time.

[calimary]

29. link doesn't open up.

[kskiska]

34. Try cutting and pasting the entire link

instead of clicking on the highlighted part.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=EXNS34V3O5E1CCRBAEOCFFA?type=politicsNews&storyID=3908769

For some reason, it gets shortened.

[LiberalFighter]

55. Best way to do links

Give the link a name. The name will show but the link itself will not show unless you mouseover it.

[montana_hazeleyes]

36. How do they dare say bush* is a "president fond of a tough

guy image" He's only a "tough guy" when he's putting other's lives on the line.

[dusty64]

37. I knew they would

have had to have dragged him kicking and screaming. rove probably threatened him with another "pretzel" incident. Hope the truth gets more media play rather than the disgusting and slobbering fawning over this "incredible" trip. I do not recall EVER seeing such blatant whoring before, it is absolutely appalling and a preview of what next year is going to be like.

[DemExpat]

38. kick

:kick:

DemEx

[Malva Zebrina]

39. I don't believe a thing that comes out of Crawford

the very name itself conjurs up images of creepy crawly things.

[koopie57]

45. I wonder if they would arrest me

if at the next demonstration I stuck a rubber chicken on a stick and glued a picture of Bush's face to it?

[opihimoimoi]

46. At the nx dem get some bumper stickers for the porta potties

that say

TAKE A "BUSH" HERE

Complete w his picture on the "Busher".

Better yet, in the Busher

[LiberalFighter]

57. You know why all dogs are Democrats?

Because they will piss on bushes and shrubs.

[LiberalFighter]

56. Depends on how big the stick is

and the community you are in.

How about real chickens that had their heads chopped off with a bush head stuffed in the opening being splattered all over the demonstration site?

[Pallas180]

64. Koopie - thanks :) I can't stop laughing at that picture. Please do it.

:hi:

[Pallas180]

65. Koopie - thanks :) I can't stop laughing at that picture. Please do it.

:hi:

[bobthedrummer]

47. What an exercise in pedagogy.

Wanna go bye-bye to Baghdad?:puke:

[dvddrone]

49. It's a replacement ad

They needed something to replace the aircraft carrier debacle. They can't use that one anymore - it's been discredited and is now a humiliating fiasco. They'll use this one instead.

Elizabeth

[peacetalksforall]

58. You got it wrong if you're criticizing his 2.5 hours....

it was just practice for Christmas when he is going to do 3.0 hours.

[KoKo]

59. Given the 6 Spanish Intelligence Deaths and 1 Japanese Diplomats (possible

deaths today....I would say when the "wash is done and out of the dryer," Bush will "rue the day" he listened to "Card/Rove" about the latest "Photo Op."

A local columnist in my local North Carolina Paper called him the "Photo Op President." I wonder if he "coined the word" or this is already out there.

Whatever...it's a great term which sums the "chimp" up. THE "Photo Op P-Resident." No matter what spin or which way one looks at it....that's what he is. :puke:

[KoKo]

Given the 6 Spanish Intelligence Deaths and 1 Japanese Diplomats (possible

deaths today....I would say when the "wash is done and out of the dryer," Bush will "rue the day" he listened to "Card/Rove" about the latest "Photo Op."

A local columnist in my local North Carolina Paper called him the "Photo Op President." I wonder if he "coined the word" or this is already out there.

Whatever...it's a great term which sums the "chimp" up. THE "Photo Op P-Resident." No matter what spin or which way one looks at it....that's what he is. :puke:

[KoKo]

60. Given the 6 Spanish Intelligence Deaths and 1 Japanese Diplomats (possible

deaths today....I would say when the "wash is done and out of the dryer," Bush will "rue the day" he listened to "Card/Rove" about the latest "Photo Op."

A columnist in my local North Carolina Paper called him the "Photo Op President." I wonder if he "coined the word" or this is already out there.

Whatever...it's a great term which sums the "chimp" up. THE "Photo Op P-Resident." No matter what spin or which way one looks at it....that's what he is. :puke:

[KoKo]

61. Given the 6 Spanish Intelligence Deaths and 1 Japanese Diplomats (possible

deaths today....I would say when the "wash is done and out of the dryer," Bush will "rue the day" he listened to "Card/Rove" about the latest "Photo Op."

A local columnist in my local North Carolina Paper called him the "Photo Op President." I wonder if he "coined the word" or this is already out there.

Whatever...it's a great term which sums the "chimp" up. THE "Photo Op P-Resident." No matter what spin or which way one looks at it....that's what he is. :puke:

[akitamata]

68. Bush conceded about the Iraq visit, "I was the biggest skeptic of all."

"bravery" spelled C-O-W-A-R-D-I-C-E.
Bring 'em on, eh?

[bobthedrummer]

69. In my imagination I can picture Goebbels on board

and he's laughing for the camera.

[BiggJawn]

71. "But Unkle Karl, do I HAVE too?? I wanna do some drinkin'..."

"Shut up, you drunken little fool and get your jacket on...Condi! Give me a hand with him here! Look, Dub, Hitlery Klintoon is in Kabul, and her next stop is Bagdhad. You don't want that cunt making you look like a bigger pussy than you already are, do you? C'mon, damn it! FOCUS!! CONDI!! A little HELP here?????"

[shamanstar]

73. catch the flak and change your story?

so now you hear what people are saying afterwords and all of a sudden "i was concerned about the troops safety" and "they made me do it"
what a jackass.