Chimpy had a press conference this morning. Actually, it's still going on. Between comments on reporters' suits--my, how playful and clever our leader is, balancing gravitas and Jove so deftly--W helpfully defined terms.
The president's most solemn duty is to "protect the American people." No mention of the actual oath he took, which involved protecting the Constitution.
"Firm date for withdrawal" means "cut and run."
"Stay the course" means "we keep doing what we're doing." It also means "not leaving until the job is done."
No word on what "job is done" entails. But--BUT--he did explain that we're staying in Iraq because if we leave Iraq "they will come fight us here." He still doesn't understand what we're fighting over there. The insurgents are fighting to get us out of their country so they can get on with the business of killing each other until somebody grabs control. The Mehdi Army is not going to come to the US in droves to fight us here. Al Qaida is going to try to come after us regardless of when we leave Iraq, and under what circumstances. As far as AQ's presence in Iraq in the first place, he's still confusing correlation and causality. I'd love to hear what he thinks those two words mean.
As to our actions in Iraq creating more terrorists: Well, of course our actions "cause other actions... kinetic actions." Uh.
As for North Korea, we have this one-side conversation: "I believe the commander in chief must try all diplomatic measures before military action." Ha. He finally gets it, as he immediately asked his own followup, on why he went with the military option in Iraq (saints be praised, he apparently does listen sometimes). Apparently diplomacy didn't work in Iraq. Apparently the possession of nukyooler weapons makes W much more patient with the diplomatic process.
Snark, snark, snark.
You said you wouldn't tolerate a nuclear North Korea, and now they're nuclear. So what are you going to do? Uh, well, "when I talk to other world leaders on the phone, we strategize." And now we're not the only country saying North Korea is bad! "That should give diplomacy a full opportunity to succeed."
Does he wish he'd done anything different about Iraq? There are some things he wishes had gone differently. "I believe Abu Ghraib really hurt us and eased us off the moral high ground." Okay, true dat. But that's the only thing he cites, falling back on "the decision to remove Saddam from power was the right one." We'll change tactics if we need to change tactics to help this young democracy succeed. We don't want to cede this area of the world to people who would glorify a victory over the US. I wonder if he remembers the results of the democratic elections in Palestine and Iran, you know, the ones that put Islamic hardliners in office. I wonder how content he will be when the same damn thing eventually happens in Iraq.
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