Bush on Iraq: "We're learning as we go!"

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- President Bush said Wednesday that rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan as the wars rage on is proving difficult and "we're learning as we go."

The president harkened back to the patriotic sacrifice of World War II, the deadliest conflict in history, in again suggesting the country must hold firm and not lose its nerve.

"After World War II, we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies," Bush said. "These efforts took time and patience, and as a result, Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity. Germany and Japan, once mortal enemies, are now allies of the United States. And people across the world have reaped the benefits."...

Bush said his own country must not lose resolve. He said terrorist enemies, using the media and the never-ending news cycle, attack innocent people to weaken American resolve. "We need to recognize that the only way that America can lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves," Bush said.

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History and war experts warn that Bush has at times oversimplified the comparison between postwar efforts in Japan and Germany and what's unfolding in Iraq and Afghanistan.

After the end of World War II, enemies formally surrendered, hostilities ended, basic security existed, and local populations essentially accepted occupation and reconstruction.

Experts say those conditions don't exist in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The postwar analogy between World War II and today is "patently false," said Sam Brannen, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The stateless enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq "are not accountable to the same command-and-control structures that existed in Japan and Germany," he said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=NVLAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

The George B*sh way!

anything from military history courses. The last thing we need is more brainwashed leadership in the military.

A plan. Yeah - that's it.

Without the drama.

I'll be soooo glad when he's gone

I fell asleep (thankfully), but from what I heard, he used it as a policy speech and not as a commencement speech. But, then again, what would he say? "Good for you, joining the military. I had my dad keep me from harm. I've failed at everything I've ever done, but I'm president now, so you can fail and still come out on top, too. As long as your rich and well connected." Hmm, I'll pass on that speech.

we'd give you the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, the doubts we've had from the beginning have all been pretty much confirmed.

I guess Ron White was right. You can't cure stupid. :shrug:

If it takes this long to figure out something as dire as a war, I have to wonder how long it took to potty-train the little fucker? Then again, there is no real proof that bush ever was successfully potty-trained.