WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Wednesday challenged militants who have been killing and injuring U.S. forces in Iraq, saying “bring them on” because American forces were tough enough to deal with their attacks.
“There are some who feel like that conditions are such that they can attack us there,” Bush told reporters at the White House. “My answer is bring them on…”
“…in fact,” the President continued, “I don’t think Iraqi militants have the guts to kill more Americans. I think they’re yeller.” Bush, who during Vietnam war bravely combatted an extremely inconvenient schedule, made his remarks a mere 6,211 miles from the front lines.
Military reaction to Bush’s words was joyous. “Finally,” said Lt. Pete Bundt of the Army 3rd Armored Division, “I was beginning to worry that the Iraqis might stop shooting at us and ambushing our convoys and wounding our men. Now we can be sure that there’ll be more action.”
Despite some criticism that his statements might be provocative, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said that the President’s remarks were consistent with the administration’s foreign policy agenda. “The more enemies you have, the more likely it is that any given bullet you fire is going to hit one of ‘em. It’s simple math,” he said.
The President himself downplayed the idea that his words might spur more violence. “No chance of that,” he said, “because everyone knows that Iraqis are big fat chickens. Buck-buck-buck…“
Fanny Roborat
26 comments
Landis
July 2, 2003 at 12:46 pm
1When I heard his quote on the news this morning I just thought “I’m sure glad I’m not over there.”
And then, how far does this guy have to go before the country realizes what he’s doing to us?!?
Help! “A vote for Adam is a vote for sanity.”
(Never thought you’d hear that, did you Mrs. Felber?…)
Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday!
Ras_Nesta
July 2, 2003 at 1:22 pm
2Wonder how many of Ws family are getting their asses shot off in Iraq?
This morning, I heard the repulsive Ken Adelman on NPR’s “The Diane Rehm Show” saying that the public isn’t noticing all the “recycled” stories on injuries(He was careful to never mention “deaths”. Obviously a new GOP spin offensive). If I was a loved one of a soldier killed in one of these “recycled” attacks, I’d think about “recycling” Adelman.(Although I don’t know how you “recycle” shit.)
Listen to the show, if you’ve got the stomach: Here.
Terry
July 2, 2003 at 1:33 pm
3Actually, no one should be surprised here. Bush has a long history of this sort of brave behavior. Back in ‘71, Bush taunted the Viet Cong while lying in a puddle of his own vomit in a Houston barroom.
More recently, he called the manager of a New Hampshire Denny’s and, using the name Cornelius Wilson, complained that his waiter had been extremely rude, demanding that the boy be fired.
Brad
July 2, 2003 at 1:39 pm
4Actually, shit can be usually recycled to make good fertilizer…
It’s good to see Bush back in cowboy mode.
What I’m wondering is whether the DoD will get caught for managing to make the 64 or so U.S. soldiers killed since May 1 into only 23 combat deaths (e.g., Reuters in a June 15 article had counted about 40 combat deaths…). Let’s see…you don’t count “friendly fire” deaths…don’t count deaths caused by wounds incurred in combat (chalk those up as “deaths due to incompetent doctors”)…don’t include deaths from shrapnel, only due to gunshots…that would just about do it.
Chicory
July 2, 2003 at 1:55 pm
5As any good bar fighter knows, it doesn’t matter how bad you look as long as the other guy looks worse. Shrub is going to secure those Iraqi oil resources no matter how many soldiers it takes. He means business.
Felber for President !!!!!!!! Adam, Adam, Adam…….
George de Lombard
July 2, 2003 at 4:02 pm
6Now go away or we shall be forced to taunt you a second time!
Murray
July 2, 2003 at 4:53 pm
7I also heard Adelbrained this morning and was amazed at how furiously he was able to dance around the facts.
Let me get this straight, a president who advocated for the Veitnam war yet went AWOL from the NG Rangers (safe at home and free from dangers), mislead the nation into a war that now is claiming about an American a day, feels that the soldiers who are risking their lives for his reelection need more reasons to be shot at. Let me know when we have exited Bizzaro World.
anne
July 2, 2003 at 5:53 pm
8I read what G. Bush said and thought that sounded as sick and insane as anything I’ve heard since last time I listened to the news- but then I thought “I’m all alone”- no one else will hear (said sickness and insanity). But you did.
Thanks- (THE EMPEROR IS WEARING NO CLOTHES!)
I feel somehow less alone.
pericat
July 2, 2003 at 7:57 pm
9(THE EMPEROR IS WEARING NO CLOTHES!)
Thanks, anne. All I needed on top of this was a mental image of a nekkid Dubya.
michael
July 2, 2003 at 10:00 pm
10well, pericat, judging by the flight suit, at least it would be, er, shall we say impressive?
Catherine
July 3, 2003 at 7:53 am
11No, not impressive nekkid - the sock would fall down.
Ibid
July 3, 2003 at 8:18 am
12A discussion of this subject broke up a private list-serv that I’m on. Apparently several of the people on the list genuinely believe that Bush’s posturing and empty bravado is a good thing. By stirring up anyone with a grudge against the US we can find out who our enemies are and kill them all. So what if we don’t even know who is killing our soldiers now? We’ll kill them anyway.
If Bush starts to take any flack for this he can hide behind being a good christian, just like the legion of pedophile priests, and everyone will forgive him.
Genocide - it’s not just a good idea, it’s foreign policy.
Ken
July 3, 2003 at 8:27 am
13Sorry, folks, but nobody I know gives a flying f___. Examples: My best friend is a Naval Academy grad who retired after almost 30 years in the service. He will take any opportunity given to tell me just how evil and repugnant BILL CLINTON is, but the Holy Son of Poppy is just aces in his book. He’s entirely unconcerned about the consequences of Chimpie’s bluster.
Or take my office mate, Captain Babyface of the U.S. Army Reserves. His father served in Vietnam and he himself is recently back from Afghanistan (his platoon was doing ordnance disposal). I related Shrubya’s words and Cappie started in about how it’s better that our soldiers die (even by burning to death, as I’d described) than that Saddam remain in power. I pointed out that there were many dictators every bit as bad, but we just went for the one with the oil (and, of course, who had threatened Poppy). “You know something?” Cappie said. “I’m not worried about it. I’m going to let you worry about it.” “WHY aren’t you worried about it?” I asked, and the baby face got a look on it not previously seen. “That’s none of your business,” he snapped, “NONE of your BUSINESS”.
I give up. The country’s being led by a 13-yr-old in a $3,000 suit and even a man fresh from duty in Afghanistan, who I’m guessing may have lost a troop, won’t hear a word said against the Colossus of Crawford. It’s over, folks. Chimpco won.
Mustang Bobby
July 3, 2003 at 9:00 am
14I always thought that spending your adulthood re-fighting the battles of chidhood was the fertile ground of playwrights and novelists, not foreign policy.
Scott
July 3, 2003 at 9:36 am
15Oh, that’s good, Adam!
Dr. Fill
July 3, 2003 at 11:12 am
16Right on, Segway Man! FUCK CANADA! South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut on Comedy Central 1 AM Friday nite / Saturday morning. And, they mean uncut.
W. Kiernan
July 3, 2003 at 11:12 am
17Ken quotes a moron:
“You know something?” Cappie said. “I’m not worried about it. I’m going to let you worry about it.” “WHY aren’t you worried about it?” I asked, and the baby face got a look on it not previously seen. “That’s none of your business,” he snapped, “NONE of your BUSINESS”.
This war is going to go on for a long, long while, but Capt. Moron won’t see its end; he’s going to get fragged.
BobNJ
July 3, 2003 at 11:24 am
18On the Lehrer Newshour last nite, the conservative columnist named Cohen from some Boston newspaper (the only conservative in Boston?) was trying to find comfort in the fact that only twenty-something of the deaths have been “combat related”.
If the Lehrer Newshour continues to post its “Honor Roll” of the American dead as we go into the 2004 campaign, this could get to be a real problem for Team Bush.
Streaker
July 3, 2003 at 1:06 pm
19On the Lehrer Newshour last nite, the conservative columnist named Cohen from some Boston newspaper (the only conservative in Boston?) was trying to find comfort in the fact that only twenty-something of the deaths have been “combat related”.
Posted by: BobNJ on July 3, 2003 11:24 AM
I saw this, Bob. I thought the two conservative columnists were fairly defensive about their positions, and the other two (I forget how they were labeled) were so articulate. Do you agree? I think perhaps it’s becoming easier to make the points about not-found-WMDs, etc. But what infuriated me was the interviewer, white-haired, middle-aged guy, who kept saying things like ‘will this become an issue’ (bush’s continued lying) as he (the interviewer) hosted clip after clip of bush’s lying, and he referred to it as ‘not being straight with the Amer. people’ and such crap.
Tony
July 3, 2003 at 1:46 pm
20The military needs to air-drop this cowboy ass**** into Iraq and then let him say, “bring them on”.
Elliott
July 3, 2003 at 2:50 pm
21Bush is just keeping up with his smoke and mirror campaign, “Y’all need to look at Iraq (or Afghanistan), and don’t look at what is happening at home while I divide the rich from the poor even more.” Check out the new jobless rate. The money managers love the low interest rates that we have, but without jobs, I fear a double dip will happen here soon. A tax cut to his cronies is supposed to solve the problem. I won’t get one, but Bush supporters now have a couple thousand to spend on re-election.
Jay Mitchell
July 3, 2003 at 6:03 pm
22I think there is an under current of “I hate this insincere little prick “building across the states. Right here in little old Portland Maine, there was anti-Bush rally at noon. With a healthy turn out of young and old. Impeach the phony.
Editor Bob
July 3, 2003 at 7:55 pm
23MILITANTS TAKE UP “THE BUSH CHALLENGE”
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 3, 2003; 8:31 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq — An Army truck hit an explosive west of Baghdad on Thursday, injuring six U.S. soldiers, and attackers ambushed patrols in the capital, wounding three other Americans. The violence also left two Iraqis dead and several wounded, including a 6-year-old.
“Only two days ago me and my fellow fedayeen were seriously considering giving up the resistance as a futile cause,” said Fuad Hassan Alwan, one of the Baath loyalists who took part in the Baghdad attack. “But when Bush invited us to ‘bring it on’, well, that just appealed to our competitive nature and we decided that we couldn’t walk away from ‘The ‘Bush Challenge’ as we like to call it. It has added a whole new sporting spirit to the deadly guerilla warfare that was missing before and provided that extra spark we needed. Now our guys are reinvigorated and motivated. Bush sure knows how to keep a nasty little war going, I tell you. What a guy!”
Lee
September 8, 2003 at 8:05 am
24Well he may not be the most well spoken President but he hit more than aspirin factories.
God bless the U.S. Troops.
Anonymous
September 19, 2003 at 7:09 pm
25I am a 33yr old citizen in this kind of stupidly run country. Even though we all want are healthy freedoms to speak our minds. Blessed are most of our presidents we have had to speak such fluent english. They are under such peer pressures too communicate to this country of OURS. On TV whith some reporters ready with questions they had time to figure out which one to ask, with what ever the great FREEDOM of speech offers to them. I as well hurt inside that we cant do it like that.
Metredev
September 19, 2003 at 7:42 pm
26Ok well just wanted to speak my state of sad emotions for bieng alive whith all the great beliefs people enjoy to have peace for themselves. There is so much disguting news about crimes with coutries to compete with each other. MUCH worse than us betting on a bloody mess of a boxing match, we watch and pay alot to even to veiw with friends and family. Now I have never bet on much of nuthin, I also want world peace terribly deppressing, for my state of mind, and dont really have of healthy friend even in my 1st family, with nothing but good healthy beleifs.