Bringing LIBERTY to
Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS
VIRTUAL TOWN
HALL
Saturday Morning, April 12, 2008, 10:30am
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A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning
Radio Address
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Click here
to listen to a replay of the April 12, 2008 Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall |
Notes and Summary of the President's Address --
"Assessing 'The Surge'"
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Fifteen months ago this week, I
announced the surge. And this week, General Petraeus and Ambassador
Crocker gave Congress a detailed report on the results. (continued
below)
How the President Differs from the American vision of
"Liberty Under God":
- The American Dream: Everyone dwelling safely
"under his Vine and Fig Tree."
- The America Motto: "In God We
Trust"
- "a firm reliance on the
protection of Divine Providence."
-
America was originally a "city
upon a hill" -- Christian values and charity (economic
productivity) were sent around the world. Trade created
relationships. America built rather than destroyed. America
was loved and admired.
-
A Truly American Foreign Policy:
- The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations
is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as
little political connection as possible."
— Washington, Farewell Address (1796)
[Washington’s emphasis]
- I deem [one of] the essential principles of our government,
and consequently [one] which ought to shape its administration,…peace,
commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling
alliances with none.
— Jefferson, First Inaugural Address
(1801)
- A truly American Foreign Policy is conducted by American
business owners, not politicians.
- "Spreading democracy" demands, first, spreading
economic democracy: "Free Markets" or
"capitalism" through free trade: not
government-imposed isolationism: "sanctions" and
embargoes.
- The Federal Government stopped heeding this wisdom 100 years ago.
The 20th century has been a century of totalitarian foreign
intervention. America sends bombs, not commerce and charity. America
is feared and despised.
- Iran, 1953 -- U.S. installs dictator who is worse than the
tyrant complained of in the Declaration of Independence
- U.S. intervenes in Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, funds
Islamic terrorists to irritate Soviets.
- Iran-Iraq, 1980's -- U.S. supports Saddam Hussein in his war
against Iran's attempts at "regime change."
- U.S. has military bases around the world
- Kuwait -- U.S.
supports Arab sheik and his wives, ignoring the rights of
Kuwaiti workers.
- U.S. Sanctions and Bombing against Iraq kill hundreds of
thousands of innocent people.
- Washington's foreign bullying causes resentment, and increases
terrorist recruiting.
-
This means beating "swords into
plowshares." "Unilateral Disarmament"
-- and end of "Weapons of Mass Destruction."
President
Bush's
Saturday Morning Radio Address
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Another
Perspective:
"Liberty Under God"
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| THE
PRESIDENT: Good morning. Fifteen months ago this week, I announced
the surge. And this week, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker
gave Congress a detailed report on the results. |
|
| Since
the surge began, American and Iraqi forces have made significant
progress. While there's more to be done, sectarian violence,
civilian deaths, and military deaths are down. Improvements in
security have helped clear the way for political and economic
progress. The Iraqi government has passed a budget and three major
"benchmark" laws. And many economic indicators are now
pointed in the right direction. |
|
| Serious
and complex challenges remain in Iraq. Yet with the surge, a major
strategic shift has occurred. Fifteen months ago, extremists were
sowing sectarian violence; today, many mainstream Sunni and Shia
are actively confronting the extremists. Fifteen months ago, al
Qaeda was using bases in Iraq to kill our troops and terrorize
Iraqis; today, we have put al Qaeda on the defensive in Iraq, and
now we are working to deliver a crippling blow. Fifteen months
ago, Americans were worried about the prospect of failure in Iraq;
today, thanks to the surge, we've revived the prospect of success
in Iraq. |
"Every
time an air strike is called in anywhere on the planet, anyone who
orders it should automatically assume that left in its wake will
be grieving, angry husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, relatives,
friends -- people vowing revenge, a pool of potential candidates
filled with the anger of genuine injustice. From the point of view
of your actual enemies, you can't bomb, missile, and strafe often
enough, because when you do so, you are more or less guaranteed to
create their newest recruits.
Tom
Engelhardt, "Catch 2,200: 9 Propositions on the
U.S. Air War for Terror |
| This
week, General Petraeus reported that security conditions have
improved enough to withdraw
all five surge brigades. By July 31, the number of U.S. combat
brigades in Iraq will be down 25 percent from the year before.
Beyond that, General Petraeus says he will need time to assess how
this reduced American presence will affect conditions on the
ground before making recommendations on further reductions. I've
told him he'll have time he needs to make his assessment. |
There is obviously
anti-war pressure on Bush, coming from growing numbers of
Americans, and from Democrat candidates. Using the word
"withdraw" helps respond to that pressure.
The U.S. will not withdraw from Iraq for decades, as McCain has
truthfully said. The U.S. intends on managing Iraq and its oil
resources until oil is no longer an important source of energy. |
| Our job
in the period ahead is to stand with the Iraqi government as it
makes the transition to responsibility
for its own security and its own destiny. So what would
this transition look like? On the security front, we will stay on
the offense, continue to support the Iraqi security forces,
continue to transfer security responsibilities to them, and move
over time into an
overwatch role. |
Iraq was already
responsible for its own security and destiny. The U.S. didn't like
how they were discharging that responsibility, so we took over.
This "overwatch" role will last another 50 years. |
| On the
economic front, Iraq's economy is growing. Iraq
is assuming responsibility for almost all the funding of
large-scale reconstruction projects, and our share of
security costs is dropping as well. On the political front, Iraq
is planning to hold elections that will provide a way for Iraqis
to settle disputes through the political process instead of
through violence. |
Why should Iraq pay
for the reconstruction of our destruction? |
| Our
efforts are aimed at a clear goal: a free Iraq that can protect
its people, support itself economically, and take
charge of its own political affairs. And no one wants to
achieve that goal more than the Iraqis themselves. |
Iraq was in
charge of its own political affairs before the U.S. took over. |
| The
turnaround that our men and women in uniform have made possible in
Iraq is a brilliant achievement. And we expect that, as conditions
on the ground continue to improve, they will permit us to continue
the policy of return on success. |
Via
Glenn Greenwald, a Rasmussen
poll released yesterday indicates that support for withdrawing
from Iraq has reached an all time high. Only 31% want to stay
until “the mission is complete.” [Cato-at-liberty
» Maybe the Surge Isn’t Working] |
| I'm
confident in our success because I know the valor of the young
Americans who defend us. This week, I commemorated the sacrifice
of Michael Monsoor, a Navy SEAL who gave his life in Iraq, and
became the fourth Medal of Honor recipient in the war on terror.
On September 29, 2006, Mike and two teammates had taken a position
on a rooftop when an insurgent grenade landed on the roof. Mike
threw himself onto the grenade. One of the survivors put it this
way: "Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, 'You
cannot take my brothers. I will go in their stead.'" |
This man is
indeed a brave, heroic man.
But terrorists do the same things, willing to give their lives
for their cause.
Monsoor gave his life for his buddies, but he also gave his
life for an unAmerican and unConstitutional foreign policy,
policies that do not make America safer or more noble. He and his
buddies should not have been in Iraq, and the grenade that killed
Monsoor came, in a very real sense, from the White House. In this
sense, Monsoor died in vain. |
| It is
heroism like Michael Monsoor's that pays the cost of human
freedom. Our prayers remain with Michael's family and with all the
men and women who continue his noble fight. We look forward to the
day when they return home in victory. |
The willingness of
Americans to follow unGodly and unConstitutional orders imperils
our freedoms. |
| Thank
you for listening. |
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Kevin Craig's Platform:
Libertarian Resources
Exporting the True Religion
- Bush has faith in "Democracy."
His goal is to export Democracy
to Iraq. This is not his job under the Constitution. If he wants
to export something to the Middle East (repeat: "This is not
his job under the Constitution"), he should export
Christianity. James Madison, "The Father of the
Constitution," said Americans should oppose any policy or
legislation if
- the policy of the bill is adverse to the diffusion of the light of
Christianity. The first wish of those who enjoy this precious gift, ought
to be that it may be imparted to the whole race of mankind.
Compare the number of those who have as yet received it with the
number still remaining under the dominion of false
Religions; and how small is the former! Does the policy
of the Bill tend to lessen the disproportion? No; it at once
discourages those who are strangers to the light of (revelation)
from coming into the Region of it; and countenances, by example the nations
who continue in darkness, in shutting out those who might convey
it to them. Instead of levelling as far as possible, every obstacle
to the victorious progress of truth, the Bill with an ignoble and
unchristian timidity would circumscribe it, with a wall of defence,
against the encroachments of error.
- • "True Religion"
- • False Religion
- • The Myth of "The
Separation of Church and State"
- It really means "the separation of God and Government,"
which leaves the Government free to become its own god.
- A government that is not "under
God" is a government that thinks it is
God.
- • The Bush regime is not just a false religion, it is a cult.
Communicating with Government and Media
- Contact Congress -- this
is from the JBS website, powered by "CapWiz," from Capitol
Advantage. Lots of organizations use capwiz. If you don't want to go
through the JBS, search for capwiz
on Google and find another organization that uses it.
Notice that you can also contact media through this webpage.
- Action E-List
Sign up for the JBS Action E-List and be notified when you can
make a critical difference on important issues.
John Adams once wrote that the American
Revolution began in 1761, when Massachusetts attorney James Otis
began legal challenges to the Writs of Assistance. He lost the case, but
"American independence," Adams wrote, "was
then and there born." Now do the math. That means it took 15
years to convince the rest of America to declare Independence (1776).
Then another seven years of war was required before a Peace Treaty was
signed (1783), and then six years before the Constitution was finally
ratified (1789). That's almost 30 years. (And Jefferson said we
shouldn't go 20
years without another rebellion!) How can we hope to convince
Americans to fight for principles they were never taught in government
schools? We need to be in this battle for the long term. "Eternal
Vigilance is the Price of Liberty."
The Democrat Party Radio Address:
Kentucky Congressman John Yarmuth delivered the Democratic
Radio Address.
Partisan criticisms of Bush's war. If a Democrat President were
leading this war, the Republican radio response would sound exactly like
this, and the Democrat would sound exactly like Bush.
Click here
for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall
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