Dubya got a little testy this morning as he continued to fend off criticism about the GWOT and the war in Iraq.
"Frustrated? Sometimes, I'm frustrated… War is not a time of joy."
"These aren't joyous times," Bush said. "These are challenging times. And they're difficult times. And they're straining the -- the psyche of our country. I understand that. You know, nobody likes to see innocent people die. Nobody wants to turn on their TV on a daily basis and see the havoc wrought by terrorists. And our question is, do we have the -- the capacity and the desire to spread peace by confronting these terrorists and supporting those who want to live in liberty? ... That's the question." |
He hammered the Democrats as weak on defense, wavering on their support for the war, and for tax increases despite the strong economy and our deficit shrikning faster than anticipated.
But his defense of Israel and support of the ceasefire left something to be deisred.
Israpundit points to Dubya's weaker responses.
1. When asked about the death and destruction Israel caused he replied that Israel was attacked and was entitled to defend itself and how it defended itself is for her to decide. I was disappointed that he didn’t say Israel’s response was proportionate notwithstanding allegations to the contrary.
2. When asked about the International Force being created, he said the US was working hard to get it done, to make it robust and to work out the mandate. Unfortunately his remarks suggested that the mandate was only to create a security zone. As for disarming Hezbollah, all he could say was that hopefully in the future they will be disarmed. Thus it is no longer on the immediate agenda to get it done. He did not remark at all on resupply.
3. When asked about whether Israel violated the ceasefire on Sunday, he begged the issue and replied that it was important to get the international force in there as soon as possible. He failed to justify Israel’s actions.
4. Finally when speaking of the threats to the Middle East and world emanated from terrorists and extremists with an ideology supported by Iran. Gone was any reference to Islamofascists. |
Tough to argue with that. You can't undercut an ally by not supporting their response to Hezbollah's terrorist actions. You can't hope that a ceasefire will make Hezbollah disarm. You can't be soft spoken when dealing with a terrorist regime like Iran.
Come on Dubya. Get your A-game back... |
