I apologize in advance if this has already been diaried, or if my diary sucks. It is my first.
I've spent most of my morning browsing around looking for reactions to Bush's speach because I just couldn't bring myself to watch it.
I ended up at The Huffington Post and an article by Paul Rieckoff entitled Troops Respond to President's Speech -- "We Need Honest Answers, Not Pep Rallies"
a bit more down below...
You might want to read this article, but there were a few parts of it that really struck me, and I wanted to post them over here for you all.
We agree there is no choice but to succeed in Iraq. But, Mr. President, what is the plan to get there? We still don't know. To quote Senator Chuck Hagel, a great patriot, it seems to those of us who served in Iraq that your administration is "making it up as they go along."
Last week, Vice President Cheney said the insurgency is in its last throes, but this week we're told to dig in for a 12-year battle. Have you asked your Secretary of Defense and Vice President to offer the Troops a straight answer?
Mr. President, we don't need to be told that the insurgents intend to shake our will, because we've sifted through the havoc wreaked by even the crudest weapons, then watched our friends sent home, changed forever. We don't need to be told that your administration is committed to taking care of the Troops, because we've already gotten the bill you sent us for the meals we ate while recovering at Walter Reed.
We don't need to be told that flak jackets and safer Humvees are on the way, because we've already learned that a phone-call home and a few hundred bucks is probably the quickest way to get body armor. Hundreds of Troops have been wounded or killed because of faulty vehicles or missing armor, but who has been held accountable?
God... I hate bush.