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In a speech on December 18th, 2005 President Bush made a speech from the Oval Office defending the invasion of Iraq and detailing his plan for the remainder of the war.

 

In his speech President Bush said that despite errors with regard to the presence of WMD’s in Iraq, the decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was right.  The president said, “Saddam Hussein, captured and jailed, is still the same raging tyrant -- only now without a throne.  His power to harm a single man, woman, or child is gone forever.  And the world is better for it.”

 

The problem, said Bush, is not that America provokes terrorists.  Rather, terrorists “view the world as a giant battlefield."  According to the president, these terrorists are filled with hatred for American ideals and actions.  If we did not fight them in their own countries, they would be on the offense against us.

 

President Bush’s strategy for the remainder of the war in Iraq has three elements: security, democracy, and reconstruction.

 

First, troops will remain on the offense in Iraq, and continue to transfer control to more Iraqi units.  The president said, “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.”

 

Although the president did not give any specifics with regard reducing the number of troops in Iraq, about 160,000 American troops are in Iraq at present. The Pentagon says it hopes to reduce the number to 138,000 by the summer and 100,000 by the end of 2006.

 

Second, the US plans to continue helping Iraqis to establish a democratic government.  The president spoke with optimism of the Iraqi elections which took place on December 15th.  Especially encouraging was the presence of many Sunni Iraqis, who boycotted the elections last January.

 

Third, the coalition will carry on with the reconstruction effort in Iraq.  According to President Bush, this plan will “revive Iraq's economy and infrastructure ... [and] ... give Iraqis confidence that a free life will be a better life.”  He also said Iraqis are optimistic despite the continued violence.

 

The president went on to say that withdrawing troops from Iraq would signal to the world that America cannot be trusted to keep its world.  He also said that “to retreat before victory would be an act of recklessness and dishonor.”

 

However, he also said that in the coming months, fewer American troops should be required to accomplish their mission in Iraq.  The president also said, “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.”

 

Bush also asked those listening to his speech to consider the stakes of this war.  He said that there are only two options: victory or defeat.  He requested that Americans “not give up in despair on this fight for freedom.”

 

The president concluded his speech by repeated the words of a Christmas carol written during the Civil War, "God is not dead, nor [does] He sleep; the Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on Earth, good-will to men."

 

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