The Iraq Speech

President Bush came before the nation this week and gave his assessment of the situation in Iraq. The talking heads are eating it up... I actually heard Chris Matthews tell the few million people watching MSNBC that he (Matthews), is more intelligent than President Bush. If that's so, Mr. Softball should have given the speech himself.

I wrote on the topic of Iraq last year. On February 27, 2006 I made the following comment:

"Nothing of true value ever comes from demand. The Bush White House cannot demand democracy for Iraq. The American Military cannot demand it for Iraq. It has to be earned by the people... OF IRAQ. They have to want it, fight for it and die for it. It's time to make these things clear to the people of Iraq, and then, it's time to go."

I stand behind this statement and finally the president is making the same demands of the Iraqi Government:

"I have made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people — and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this."

George W. Bush

If these people want peace, prosperity and democracy - let them lay their lives, and the lives of their loved ones on the alter... America is doing so, and will continue to do so, but as the president has now said, "America's commitment is not open-ended."

TK