Thursday, June 17, 2004
Bush Compares Iraq To Germany
President Bush compares Iraq occupation to Germany and points out there were doubters then.
President Bush:
Our coalition is helping the Iraqi people to rebuild the basic infrastructure of their country. This is work that America has done before.
I want you to remember this. In 1947, two years after the Nazi surrender, there was still starvation in Germany. Reconstruction seemed to be faltering.
Some questioned whether a free and stable Germany could emerge from the rubble. Fortunately, America and her allies were optimistic. They stood firm.
We helped the German people overcome these challenges and resist the designs of the Soviet Union. We overcame many obstacles, because we knew that the only hope for a secure America was a peaceful and democratic Europe.
And because we persevered, because we had faith in our values, because we were strong in the face of adversity, Germany became the stable, successful great nation that it is today.
Fourteen months have passed since the fall of Baghdad. And today, in spite of terrorist insurgency, Iraq's economy is moving forward.
Markets are beginning to thrive. New businesses have opened. A stable new currency is in place. Dozens of political parties are organizing. Hundreds of courts of law are opening across the country.
Today in Iraq, more than 170 newspapers are being published. I saw the other day they'd even got talk radio. I don't know if they've contacted Rush yet.
Life is better in other ways for the people of Iraq. Electric power is being restored, and is no longer being distributed based on loyalty to Saddam Hussein's regime.
Our coalition has rehabilitated nearly 2,500 schools, and over 1,200 more should be completed by the end of the year.
All of Iraq's hospitals and most medical clinics are opened and are serving the people. Since the liberation, the vast majority of Iraqi children under 5 years old have been vaccinated for polio, measles, tuberculosis and other diseases.
In the south of Iraq, our coalition is re-flooding the wetlands that Saddam Hussein systematically drained to decimate the marsh Arabs. We're bringing back a 5,000-year civilization to life.
Last month, inspired by love of country, rather than the fear of a dictator, the Iraqi team won an upset victory over Saudi Arabia and earned its first trip ever to compete in the Olympic games. All countries gathered in Greece will be able to cheer for the athletes from a free Iraq.
With each step forward on the path to self-government and self- reliance, the terrorists will grow more desperate.
But our coalition is standing firm. New Iraq's leaders are not intimidated. I will not yield, and neither will the leaders of Iraq.
President Salutes the Military at Macdill Air Force Base
Remarks by the President to Military Personnel - Transcript (Click Here)
Read more on this subject in Related Hot Topics:
LIFE Magazine: Americans Are Losing the Victory in Europe
Rush: We went back and found all these stories from the New York Times in 1945 and LIFE magazine from 1946, and if you read those issues of the newspaper in the magazine, it's identical to what's being said about our "ultimate failure" in Iraq.
We were going to "lose the peace." American troops were thieves. They were stealing from the Germans and stealing from the French and selling things on the black market.
We were just the worst scum roaming the earth. There's no way we were going to keep the peace. The German citizens, they hated us. The French didn't want us. Nobody liked us. It's uncanny how similar it was, or is.
McClellan, Bush's press secretary: The president has previously said on a number of occasions that no one wants to be occupied. We don't want to be occupiers. That's why we're moving forward.
President Bush compares Iraq occupation to Germany and points out there were doubters then.
President Bush:
Our coalition is helping the Iraqi people to rebuild the basic infrastructure of their country. This is work that America has done before.
I want you to remember this. In 1947, two years after the Nazi surrender, there was still starvation in Germany. Reconstruction seemed to be faltering.
Some questioned whether a free and stable Germany could emerge from the rubble. Fortunately, America and her allies were optimistic. They stood firm.
We helped the German people overcome these challenges and resist the designs of the Soviet Union. We overcame many obstacles, because we knew that the only hope for a secure America was a peaceful and democratic Europe.
And because we persevered, because we had faith in our values, because we were strong in the face of adversity, Germany became the stable, successful great nation that it is today.
Fourteen months have passed since the fall of Baghdad. And today, in spite of terrorist insurgency, Iraq's economy is moving forward.
Markets are beginning to thrive. New businesses have opened. A stable new currency is in place. Dozens of political parties are organizing. Hundreds of courts of law are opening across the country.
Today in Iraq, more than 170 newspapers are being published. I saw the other day they'd even got talk radio. I don't know if they've contacted Rush yet.
Life is better in other ways for the people of Iraq. Electric power is being restored, and is no longer being distributed based on loyalty to Saddam Hussein's regime.
Our coalition has rehabilitated nearly 2,500 schools, and over 1,200 more should be completed by the end of the year.
All of Iraq's hospitals and most medical clinics are opened and are serving the people. Since the liberation, the vast majority of Iraqi children under 5 years old have been vaccinated for polio, measles, tuberculosis and other diseases.
In the south of Iraq, our coalition is re-flooding the wetlands that Saddam Hussein systematically drained to decimate the marsh Arabs. We're bringing back a 5,000-year civilization to life.
Last month, inspired by love of country, rather than the fear of a dictator, the Iraqi team won an upset victory over Saudi Arabia and earned its first trip ever to compete in the Olympic games. All countries gathered in Greece will be able to cheer for the athletes from a free Iraq.
With each step forward on the path to self-government and self- reliance, the terrorists will grow more desperate.
But our coalition is standing firm. New Iraq's leaders are not intimidated. I will not yield, and neither will the leaders of Iraq.
President Salutes the Military at Macdill Air Force Base
Remarks by the President to Military Personnel - Transcript (Click Here)
Read more on this subject in Related Hot Topics:
LIFE Magazine: Americans Are Losing the Victory in Europe
Rush: We went back and found all these stories from the New York Times in 1945 and LIFE magazine from 1946, and if you read those issues of the newspaper in the magazine, it's identical to what's being said about our "ultimate failure" in Iraq.
We were going to "lose the peace." American troops were thieves. They were stealing from the Germans and stealing from the French and selling things on the black market.
We were just the worst scum roaming the earth. There's no way we were going to keep the peace. The German citizens, they hated us. The French didn't want us. Nobody liked us. It's uncanny how similar it was, or is.
McClellan, Bush's press secretary: The president has previously said on a number of occasions that no one wants to be occupied. We don't want to be occupiers. That's why we're moving forward.
