[America, our Coalition (which sadly has lost the services of the twelve troops from Moldava and forty from the Kingdom of Tonga), and Iraqi leaders are working toward the same goal--a US dominated Iraq which will enable America to gain considerable power in a region rich in the commodity we crave most. We want to crush opposition to US imperialism and create an Iraq that will serve as a model as to how the US will conquer the rest of the Middle East.]
We have put in place a strategy to achieve this goal - a strategy I have been discussing in detail over the last few weeks. This plan has three critical elements.
First, our Coalition will remain on the offense - finding and clearing out the enemy ... transferring control of more territory to Iraqi units ... and building up the Iraqi Security Forces so they can increasingly lead the fight. At this time last year, there were only a handful of Iraqi army and police battalions ready for combat. Now, there are more than 125 Iraqi combat battalions fighting the enemy ... more than 50 are taking the lead ... and we have transferred more than a dozen military bases to Iraqi control.
Second, we are helping the Iraqi government establish the institutions of a unified and lasting democracy, in which all of Iraq's peoples are included and represented. Here also, the news is encouraging. Three days ago, more than 10 million Iraqis went to the polls - including many Sunni Iraqis who had boycotted national elections last January. Iraqis of every background are recognizing that democracy is the future of the country they love - and they want their voices heard. One Iraqi, after dipping his finger in the purple ink as he cast his ballot, stuck his finger in the air and said: "This is a thorn in the eyes of the terrorists." Another voter was asked, "Are you Sunni or Shia?" He responded, "I am Iraqi."
[Second, we are helping the Iraqi government establish the institutions of a unified and lasting democracy, like ours. We are helping them establish a system in which the poor and middle class citizens have virtually no realistic chance at public office. We are training Iraqi businesses, corporations and special interests to lobby and donate large sums of money to advance their agendas while ignoring the well-being of the people and the environment. We are teaching politicians and members of the government to lie, cheat and accept bribes. We are emphasizing the need to have excessive regressive taxes and minimal progressive taxes. There is so much for them to learn and so little time, especially with that traitorous anti-war crowd here in the US pressuring me to "bring home the troops". I am so sick of those bleeding hearts. Why don't they get lives and let my regime conduct its war for profit in peace?]
Third, after a number of setbacks, our Coalition is moving forward with a reconstruction plan to revive Iraq's economy and infrastructure - and to give Iraqis confidence that a free life will be a better life. Today in Iraq, seven in 10 Iraqis say their lives are going well - and nearly two-thirds expect things to improve even more in the year ahead. Despite the violence, Iraqis are optimistic - and that optimism is justified.
[Third, after a number of setbacks, our Coalition is moving forward with a reconstruction plan to revive the economy and infrastructure our invasion destroyed. Today in Iraq, seven in 10 Iraqis say their lives are going well. Yet that same ABC News Poll indicates that 52% of Iraqis say that the country is "doing badly", 66% oppose our presence there, only 46% think the country is better off now than before the illegal occupation, and 26% of Iraqis want us out now. We need to step up the propaganda to convince those stubborn Iraqis what a good thing it is to have America invade your country.]
In all three aspects of our strategy - security, democracy, and reconstruction - we have learned from our experiences, and fixed what has not worked. We will continue to listen to honest criticism, and make every change that will help us complete the mission. Yet there is a difference between honest critics who recognize what is wrong, and defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right.
[In all three aspects of our strategy--security, democracy, and reconstruction--we have learned from our experiences what it is that we need to do to manipulate the situation in Iraq to America's advantage, regardless of the cost to Iraqis or US service people. We will continue to listen to honest criticism, while continuing to equate dissent with a lack of patriotism, and now defeatism.]
Defeatism may have its partisan uses, but it is not justified by the facts. For every scene of destruction in Iraq, there are more scenes of rebuilding and hope. For every life lost, there are countless more lives reclaimed. And for every terrorist working to stop freedom in Iraq, there are many more Iraqis and Americans working to defeat them. My fellow citizens: Not only can we win the war in Iraq - we are winning the war in Iraq.
[Defeatism is the new label I am hanging on those who dissent against the illegal occupation and my regime. I want the new American Groupthink to be that dissenters are losers. In their eagerness to give up in the face of adversity, the anti-war protesters are ignoring the obvious scenes of rebuilding and hope in Iraq. Forget the fact that over 2,000 Americans have been sacrificed on the altar of Mammon. Disregard those "30,000" Iraqis who have died. Never mind the $228 billion my regime has wasted on this debacle we started based on lies. We are winning the war because America has made another imperial conquest of a nation rich in a vital resource upon which our corporate cronies can capitalize, and has secured a foothold from which it can dominate the rest of the Middle East.]
It is also important for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done. We would abandon our Iraqi friends - and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word. We would undermine the morale of our troops - by betraying the cause for which they have sacrificed. We would cause tyrants in the Middle East to laugh at our failed resolve, and tighten their repressive grip. We would hand Iraq over to enemies who have pledged to attack us - and the global terrorist movement would be emboldened and more dangerous than ever before. To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and I will not allow it.
[It is important for every American to understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq before our work is done, even though there are so many dynamics and variables that it would be impossible to make an accurate prediction of the full spectrum of consequences. One consequence would be that we would abandon our Iraqi friends (we have killed "30,000" of them, but they are still friends), and signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its word (when so many people across the globe believe so deeply in the integrity of the United States). We would cause tyrants in the Middle East (many of whom we installed or support) to laugh at our failed resolve and tighten their repressive grip. We would hand Iraq over to enemies who have pledged to attack us (they have a Pledge to Attack America which they recite just as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance....Scout's honor....they really do). To retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor, and despite the fact that virtually all of my personal endeavors have involved both recklessness and dishonor, I will not allow it. Iraq is a pearl of exquisite value and it will not slip from my grasp.]
We are approaching a New Year, and there are certain things all Americans can expect to see. We will see more sacrifice - from our military, their families, and the Iraqi people. We will see a concerted effort to improve Iraqi police forces and fight corruption. We will see the Iraqi military gaining strength and confidence, and the democratic process moving forward. As these achievements come, it should require fewer American troops to accomplish our mission. I will make decisions on troop levels based on the progress we see on the ground and the advice of our military leaders - not based on artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington. Our forces in Iraq are on the road to victory - and that is the road that will take them home.
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