I blogged this yesterday:
During an interview today on ABC's This Week, President Bush tried to distance himself from what has been his core strategy in Iraq for the last three years. George Stephanopoulos asked about James Baker's plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is "between 'stay the course' and 'cut and run.'"
Bush responded, 'We've never been stay the course, George!'
Well George, I beg to differ. 6/5/2003 - The White House started using "stay the course" not long after the March 19, 2003, invasion of Iraq. While speaking to U.S. troops in Qatar on June 5, 2003, Bush said: "Not only does the war on terror go on, but we've got a lot of work to do in Iraq. And we're going to stay the course until the job gets done. We will stand with them as they build a stable democracy and a peaceful future."
7/10/2003 - In Botswana, Bush said: "We haven't been there long. I mean, relatively speaking. We've been there for 90 to 100 days -- I don't have the exact number. But I will tell you, it's going to take more than 90 to 100 days for people to recognize the great joys of freedom and the responsibilities that come with freedom. We're making steady progress. A free Iraq will mean a peaceful world. And it's very important for us to stay the course, and we will stay the course."
7/20/2003 - "A free Iraq will mean a peaceful world. And it's very important for us to stay the course, and we will stay the course."
10/27/2003 - “This government is determined to hear the call from the Iraqis, and the call is they want a society in which their children can go to school, in which they can get good health care, in which they're able to live a peaceful life. It's in the national interest of the United States that a peaceful Iraq emerge. And we will stay the course in order to achieve this objective. “
10/28/2003 - "It's in the national interest of the United States that a peaceful Iraq emerge and we will stay the course in order to achieve this objective," Bush said to reporters while meeting PaulBremer, top US civilian administrator in Iraq, at the White House.”
12/15/2003 - “We will stay the course until the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We're just going to stay the course.”
4/4/2004 - “But we will stay the course. We will do what is right.”
4/5/2004 - “I just met with Specialist Chris Hill's family from North Carolina. You know, I told the family how much we appreciated his sacrifice -- he was killed in Iraq -- and assured him that we would stay the course, that a free Iraq was very important for peace in the world, long-term peace, and that we're being challenged in Iraq because there are people there that hate freedom. But the family was pleased to hear that we -- its son would not have died in vain. And that's an important message that I wanted to share with you today.”
“And we've got to stay the course, and we will stay the course.”
4/13/2004 - In a televised address: : "It's hard to advance freedom in a country that has been strangled by tyranny. And, yet, we must stay the course, because the end result is in our nation's interest." and LATER: “And, yet, we must stay the course, because the end result is in our nation's interest."
"And my message today to those in Iraq is: We'll stay the course; we'll complete the job. My message to our troops is: We will stay the course and complete the job and you'll have what you need.”
4/16/2004 - “And that's why we're going to stay the course in Iraq. And that's why when we say something in Iraq, we're going to do it, because we want there to be a free society.”
9/23/2004 - "It's hard work in Iraq. Everybody knows that. We see it on our TV. My message is that -- is that we will stay the course and stand with these people so that they become free."
8/4/2005 - "They're terrorists, they're killers and they will kill innocent people trying to get us to withdraw from the world so they can impose their dark vision on the world. That's what they're trying to do, and the comments today by Mr. Zawahiri absolutely reinforce what I have just told you. We will stay the course; we will complete the job in Iraq."
8/30/2006 - "We will stay the course, we will help this young Iraqi democracy succeed and victory in Iraq will be a major ideological triumph in the struggle of the 21st century."
10/11/2006 - “And so, for those folks saying, make sure there's flexibility, I couldn't agree more with you. And I think the characterization of "let's stay the course" is about a quarter right. Stay the course means keep doing what you're doing. My attitude is, don't do what you're doing if it's not working; change. Stay the course also means don't leave before the job is done. And that's -- we're going to get the job done in Iraq. And it's important that we do get the job done in Iraq.”
I'm sure some of you can find some more examples of this backpeddling.
I've blogged this
elsewhere and it has the links to the sources in it.
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