President Bush at Elmendorf AFB

President Bush gave a speech at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska yesterday. His speech ranged across many fronts in this war on terrorism while saluting those who bravely serve.

“Each of you is a volunteer. You stepped forward and took an oath to defend America. And every day you put on your uniforms, you reflect our nation's highest values and our greatest hopes.”

The military forces that toppled the Taliban and Saddam, who now patrol those two countries, is composed of volunteers. They willingly raised their right hand and affirmed a willingness to serve their country before themselves. Putting themselves into harms way so many millions of people can rest easier each night. With Armistice Day just behind us, it is even more important to recognize the sacrifice these people have made. These men and women come from all walks of life and many foreign; all willing to protect a dream, the dream of making the world a better place for future generations of children.

These are not people who are mindless robots blindly following orders forced into joining the military because of dire economic straits or looking for cheap college funding, though some have attempted to put this tautology forward to paint all these volunteers as such. It is a false premise wrapped in exaggerations and outright lies. Since September 11th, 2001, the American military has seen come into its ranks football players, police who were there on 911, and successful business people along with average citizens who felt the call to serve this country in a time of need.

To those who throw the name Massey in my face, find a better witness. Newspapers across the country are publishing apologies in their papers for not researching more thoroughly his claims, which have been proven to be misrepresentations of actual events if not outright lies. And for those who mistreated captive insurgents at Abu Ghraib, they have been punished for their misconduct so stop beating this dead horse unless this is the only horse in your stable of argument. Please do not mention Cindy Sheehan, she has gone from having some sympathy from me to someone who is loathsome in her hatred for her calls for the destruction of Israel, is not six million dead enough of a counter argument?

“Some might be tempted to dismiss the terrorist goals as fanatical or extreme. They are fanatical and extreme -- but we cannot afford to dismiss them. Evil men, obsessed with ambition and unburdened by conscience, must be taken very seriously. Against such an enemy, there is only one effective response: We will never back down, we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory.”

Here the President restates his commitment to the fight while sounding a bit Churchillian, a fight for the survival of Western Civilization while defining who really opposes this civilization. All I have to say is bravo!

“We didn't ask for this global struggle, but we're answering history's call with confidence, and with a comprehensive strategy to win this war.”

The United States was dragged into this conflict because evil men misjudged our love for peace as a weakness. The Kaiser found out how wrong that was in a global war that destroyed the frayed fabric of a decaying aristocratic Europe because some Serb nationalists killed an Archduke of Austria. So did Hitler and Tojo learn when they promulgated world domination and genocide in their grandiose goals. Now we get to add the Taliban and Saddam Hussein to that list of losers who misjudged the United States. To paraphrase George Satayana, those who fail to learn to not mess with the United States are doomed.

Please go read the whole speech, I only tackled a few bits of it and added my own commentary.