Bush speaks at Annapolis - and again avoids the obvious

President Bush addressed the graduating class of cadets at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD today. Here is a link to his full speech:
GOP.com | Republican National Committee :: Remarks By The President On The War On Terror

Again, what President Bush didn't say was a lot more revealing than what he did say.

After the usual warm up joke, thank yous and obligatory mentions of local politicians in attendance, the President made a reference often missing from his speeches, discussing the global nature of this war, and on its Islamist content. And he again, intelligently in myopinion,
compared Islamism with fascism and the communist enemy of the cold war.

The President then gave a detailed analysis of his strategy in Iraq. He mentioned whom he felt the opposition consisted of ("rejectionists, Saddamists and terrorists") and the steps being taken to create 'a democratic Iraq led by a federal government that is a strong enough government to protect minority rights.'

Apparently, the President still feels that all it takes to turn the Arab World into a peaceful democratic haven is ballots and the vote. Needless to say, he didn't mention the results of the recent elections mounted under heavy US pressure in Egypt and the Palestinian Authority , which saw Islamists and terrorists like Barghouti making major gains.

Bush then weighed in on terrorists `linked with or inspired by al Qaeda' and stated that if victorious `They would then use Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks against America, and overthrow moderate governments in the Middle East, and try to establish a totalitarian Islamic empire that reaches from Indonesia to Spain. That's their stated objective.'

All well and good. But no mention of how he plans to deal with states that actively support the Great Jihad and are already bases for it..like our `friends' the Saudis. Or Iran. And most importantly, no mention of how America is going to fight the Islamist enemy on the home front.

Bush goes on to say that there is no appeasing this enemy, and that America will not accept anything less than total victory. He then pointedly refuses to go into what victory over global jihad would consist of!

The President concluded with a detailed account of how the USA is training Iraqi security forces and the progress that's been made. Anyone with any knowledge of what's been going on there can't help but be impressed by the progress.

But here's the kicker:the president seems to think that a `victory' in this war consists of Iraqis securing their own country and our troops returning home. As if that is going to deter the Iranians from getting nukes, end the exporting of Islamic terrorism and jihad throughout the globe and magically dissapate the Islamist mindset!

Can President Bush actually believe this?

The president's speech at Annapolis was much better than some of his previous outings, and each time he appears to get a leetle bit closer to actually telling his fellow Americans the real deal. But this speech was only halfway there. Just as, unfortunately, President Bush seems to be content in fighting half a war.