Bush Says We Have To Make War In The Middle East?

[Lyric]

Because those countries can't be trusted with the responsibility of owning oil? WTF?

I am currently tuned-in to Rush Limbaugh to try and get a list of his sponsors (advertisers) together (for boycott purposes) and he's interviewing Bush. I was only half-listening, but I caught something about Bush saying that "Those countries will use their oil to blackmail the West" by decreasing production and raising prices if we don't abandon Israel/turn on our Allies/etc.

Did anyone else hear this? I want to make sure of what the whole quote said, but I *think* I just heard our President imply that (1) The Middle East can't be trusted with their oil, therefore (2) We need to go take control over there. I've never heard Bush say that right out loud before. Is he finally revealing his real strategy here?? Are we going to be perpetually at war because Arab nations "can't be trusted" with that precious oil?

EDIT: Found the transcript. Posting it below.

THE PRESIDENT: My thoughts are that we face an enemy that will kill innocent people. They murder to achieve their objectives, and they use propaganda in order to do two things. One: proclaim their might, and secondly to discourage us. Obviously the idea of their propaganda being displayed is something that bothers me in the sense that I don't want the American people to become discouraged. One: I want them to understand the stakes in this war; and, two, that we're going to win this war and not to be discouraged about the violence and the propaganda that they see. Obviously, some of the violence is not propaganda, but these tapes that they put out are all aimed at shaking our confidence.

Osama Bin Laden himself has said that it's just a matter of time before the United States loses its will and retreats. Give me a second here, Rush, because I want to share something with you. I am deeply concerned about a country, the United States, leaving the Middle East. I am worried that rival forms of extremists will battle for power, obviously creating incredible damage if they do so; that they will topple modern governments, that they will be in a position to use oil as a tool to blackmail the West. People say, "What do you mean by that?" I say, "If they control oil resources, then say they pull oil off the market in order to run the price up, and they will do so unless we abandon Israel, for example, or unless we abandon allies. You couple that with a country that doesn't like us with a nuclear weapon and people will look back at this moment and say, 'What happened to those people in 2006?' and those are the stakes in this war we face." On the one hand we've got a plan to make sure we protect you from immediate attack, and on the other hand we've got a long-term strategy to deal with these threats, and part of that strategy is to stay on the offense. Part of the strategy is to help young democracies like Lebanon and Iraq be able to survive against the terrorists and the extremists who are trying to crush their hopes, and part of the democracy is for a freedom movement, which will help create the conditions so that the extremists become marginalized and unable to recruit.

[Deja Q]

1. No, but the oil could be sold to people who'd do harm to us.

And, thanks to Mr. Bush, we're rather on the edge of a no-win scenario. Oil means power and wealth. And wealth generates power. (labor also generates wealth, but it's more fun to be blind to that fact.)

At some point, a hard choice will have to be made.

[gfnrob]

2. Our oil

What the hell IS our oil doing under their sand??????????????????

[liberal N proud]

4. Exactly

You would think that God would have known better and put it all under Texas.
:sarcasm:

[BattyDem]

3. Wow!

:wow:

If he did say that, every Democrat better JUMP on it immediately! This would be big.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Gee, surprise, surprise. I carried a sign at a protest back in 2002 that

said, "It's the OIL, Stupid".

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. Actually, he said "make war on the middle class"

nt

[Lyric]

8. Actually, I just found the transcript

THE PRESIDENT: My thoughts are that we face an enemy that will kill innocent people. They murder to achieve their objectives, and they use propaganda in order to do two things. One: proclaim their might, and secondly to discourage us. Obviously the idea of their propaganda being displayed is something that bothers me in the sense that I don't want the American people to become discouraged. One: I want them to understand the stakes in this war; and, two, that we're going to win this war and not to be discouraged about the violence and the propaganda that they see. Obviously, some of the violence is not propaganda, but these tapes that they put out are all aimed at shaking our confidence.

Osama Bin Laden himself has said that it's just a matter of time before the United States loses its will and retreats. Give me a second here, Rush, because I want to share something with you. I am deeply concerned about a country, the United States, leaving the Middle East. I am worried that rival forms of extremists will battle for power, obviously creating incredible damage if they do so; that they will topple modern governments, that they will be in a position to use oil as a tool to blackmail the West. People say, "What do you mean by that?" I say, "If they control oil resources, then say they pull oil off the market in order to run the price up, and they will do so unless we abandon Israel, for example, or unless we abandon allies. You couple that with a country that doesn't like us with a nuclear weapon and people will look back at this moment and say, 'What happened to those people in 2006?' and those are the stakes in this war we face." On the one hand we've got a plan to make sure we protect you from immediate attack, and on the other hand we've got a long-term strategy to deal with these threats, and part of that strategy is to stay on the offense. Part of the strategy is to help young democracies like Lebanon and Iraq be able to survive against the terrorists and the extremists who are trying to crush their hopes, and part of the democracy is for a freedom movement, which will help create the conditions so that the extremists become marginalized and unable to recruit.

[ourvoicescount]

7. I would love to see that transcript...

Was it a slip up, or a set up?

[Lyric]

9. I have to wonder what he means when

he talks about a vague "long term strategy to deal with these threats". Does he really mean to keep our soldiers there indefinitely to make sure nobody uses their oil to blackmail us??

If that's what his plan is, I guess all of us who've been screaming about war for oil have been right all along. #$^@&$.