George Bush has spoken! - from the Oval Office - on Iraq. No great surprises in a speech essentially written by the military. Leaving to one side increasing questions hanging over the integrity of General Patreaus, and his agenda, the NY Times in a News Analysis, post the speech, concludes that Bush gave multiple messages to multiple audiences:
"President Bush addressed three very different audiences on Thursday night, and he had to hope that each would hear a different message.
To an American public overwhelmingly searching for an exit from Iraq, Mr. Bush said that he was now ready to take his first, halting steps toward drawdown — even if what he described as a “return on success” was more akin, in the eyes of his critics, to a recognition that he has run out of additional forces to sustain the troop buildup he began this year, and now has no other choice.
To Iraq’s leaders, who failed to take advantage of what the Bush administration characterized in January as their last chance to reach political reconciliation, Mr. Bush’s message was that America would stay for the long haul. But he also warned, once again, that time was running out to hold the country together.
And to the insurgents who have fought to force the United States out of Iraq — and most important to the mullahs in Tehran — Mr. Bush sent a declaration that the United States was not leaving, and that it would be a force to reckon with for years. He sent the same message, his aides said, to Iraq’s Sunni neighbors, who fear that if America throws in the towel the result could be greater chaos, and the rise of Iran as the regional power, perhaps backed by nuclear arms.
Mr. Bush’s speech was the culmination of a monthlong, highly orchestrated game plan to change the political debate in Washington and the country. But in the end, the speech once again raised the question of what America’s mission in Iraq really is — and how long it will last."
"President Bush addressed three very different audiences on Thursday night, and he had to hope that each would hear a different message.
To an American public overwhelmingly searching for an exit from Iraq, Mr. Bush said that he was now ready to take his first, halting steps toward drawdown — even if what he described as a “return on success” was more akin, in the eyes of his critics, to a recognition that he has run out of additional forces to sustain the troop buildup he began this year, and now has no other choice.
To Iraq’s leaders, who failed to take advantage of what the Bush administration characterized in January as their last chance to reach political reconciliation, Mr. Bush’s message was that America would stay for the long haul. But he also warned, once again, that time was running out to hold the country together.
And to the insurgents who have fought to force the United States out of Iraq — and most important to the mullahs in Tehran — Mr. Bush sent a declaration that the United States was not leaving, and that it would be a force to reckon with for years. He sent the same message, his aides said, to Iraq’s Sunni neighbors, who fear that if America throws in the towel the result could be greater chaos, and the rise of Iran as the regional power, perhaps backed by nuclear arms.
Mr. Bush’s speech was the culmination of a monthlong, highly orchestrated game plan to change the political debate in Washington and the country. But in the end, the speech once again raised the question of what America’s mission in Iraq really is — and how long it will last."
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