Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Two very different Presidents, in their own words

George W. Bush
President George W. Bush offered these remarks after the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein:

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em.
President Barack Hussein Obama said this, announcing the killing of Osama bin Laden:
And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Barack Hussein Obama
Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
2012 just can't come soon enough.

7 comments:

  1. I love me.

    s/Barack Obama

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  2. This is a GREAT post -Graymatta

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  3. Wow, we had no idea that Obama himself would deign to comment on our lowly blog. LOL And thanks for the compliment, Greymatta. All we did was post their words. But it does present quite a contrast, doesn't it?

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  4. GW's mom wrote that speech for him.

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  5. All Presidents have speech writers, Anonymous. But Obama's seem especially well-trained in the use of personal pronouns.

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  6. He has an "I" disease. Pride comes before a fall.

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  7. He does, indeed, Anonymous. Thanks for commenting!

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