Against a backdrop of turmoil in Iraq, the 9/11 Commission hearings, and the release of the August 6 PDB, President Bush last night gave a rare
press conference where he promised to "stay the course" in the use forceful adjectives, evocative nouns, and crucial metaphors.
Bush made it clear that no matter what occurs in Iraq, his message will be the same: Saddam was a "threat" and a "danger" and the U.S. needed to deal with him to create a "free and secure" Iraq.
The "War on Terror" was, of course, the center of the President's message, and he reaffirmed that "will" and "resolve" will continue to be deployed under his strategy. "Freedom" will remain essential, along with its adjectival form "free." Variations on the words "security" and "strength," including "secure" and "strong," will be used to combat the "tough , tough series of weeks for the American people . . . [that have been] really tough for the families . . . [and] tough on this administration."
The President described the metaphors underlying his administration's approach to the perils facing the U.S. and the world. For example, Bush explained that the problem was that before 9/11 we were not on "war-footing," and the lesson is that "[o]ceans don't protect us" from harm. He then laid out his new three-pronged approach "to unravel, uncover, [and] expose" terrorist operations.
Meanwhile, the President rejected the "analogy" to Vietnam as "false." "[T]hat analogy," Bush explained, "sends the wrong message to our troops and sends the wrong message to the enemy." The correct message, the President emphasized, is: "We must not waiver."
He assured Americans and Iraqis alike that on June 30, the U.S. will declare that "sovereignty" is being "transferred" to an Iraqi "entity" that will be referred to as a "free" and "democratic" government. Bush explained that whether or not it's true, "it's also important for them to hear we will stand with them until they become a free country."
When asked about how to handle the popular uprising of Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq, Bush instructed the press that the "violence we have seen is a power grab by these extreme and ruthless elements. It's not a civil war. It's not a popular uprising." When later asked what he would do about the power grab by extreme and ruthless elements, the President explained that his plan was "to finish the job" and not do anything he would characterize as a "withdrawal" or as allowing the troops "to die vain." He warned that "empty words would embolden the actions of those who are willing to kill indiscriminately."
Bush further reassured the American people that no matter how bad things get in Iraq, "I don't intend to lose my job. Because I'm going to tell the American people I have a plan to win the war on terror."