Citizens' Advocate (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, June 23, 2006 Page: 2 of 20
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OPINION
Citizens’ Adbocate • June 23, 2006
PAGE 2
Another View
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ by Jean Murph
Stranger Beside Me: The President’s Visit to Iraq
Lou Duggan and I are debating Bush’s Iraq trip this week.
Five minutes notice. In your own country. That’s how much time the new prime
minister of Iraq received before suddenly being brought face to face for the first time
with President Bush in Baghdad last week at his own cabinet meeting. Imagine if the
Iraqi prime minister had appeared without notice at Camp David and walked into
Bush’s meeting. How out of control and embarrassed Bush would have felt. The
new Iraq leader has been trying to gain control of an almost hopeless Iraq situation,
but he had no control over this event and no choice but to be surprised. Shouldn’t
someone have foreseen how patronizing and paternalistic the event might feel to the
leaders and appear to the average Iraqi, trying to gain respect for new leadership?
Shouldn’t we have cared? Again, Iraq saw the U.S. in control.
My concern is for the style of the visit, not the visit itself. The event made me
heartsick because it reflected in so many ways a lack of sensitivity and understanding
of how to bolster another person or country rather than bolstering yourself and your
country. The event was about I and we, not you and your.
In addition, the number of deceptive tactics the administration admitted using
during the event for the sole purpose of Bush’s safety was also mind-boggling, from
fake meetings to untruths told to U.S. officials and the public. The Bush group set up
a bogus retreat to center attention on Bush being at Camp David, deceived their
retreat guests into believing that he was retiring for the night and would see them the
next day, and set up a press conference the next day at the White House as a ruse to
indicate Bush would be in the U.S. After hearing about the deception used during this
trip, one can more easily believe tales of deception in other campaign, privacy and
governing matters.
For someone who asked the enemy to “bring it on,” the President was keenly
aware of his own self-protection. From flying in Iraq at night with the lights turned
off on helicopters and Air Force One to wearing 25-pound bulletproof vests, Bush
said he didn’t want to take a “risk.” Would that our own military sons and daughters
had such security. If we are that strong, why document the spectacle of sneaking
around? The event did not reflect a strong country or bold leader.
From us, a nation that has torn their country asunder, our President now tells
Iraqis, “You must now decide your fate.” It’s a little hard to decide your fate when
your infrastructure, resources and security have been destroyed. We now see that
democracy was not such an easy road, and we are turning it back to them.
Clearly, we all understand the need for security and for Iraq not to be notified.
But for this amount of deception to be necessary, maybe we should have stuck with
the original videoconference plan. It doesn’t set a good example when we’re asking
others to end deception. Attention became focused on Bush rather than important
issues that Iraqi leaders thought they had been called together to address. Perhaps
Bush could have accomplished his major, stated goal — to “look the prime minister in
the eye” — in a less expensive, less dangerous private meeting.
But then we must be willing to consider the main reason for the visit: P.R. Only
three U.S. officials were told of the trip. Plans were extremely secretive. Except for
the dozen-plus journalists invited to go along to record and televise the event. Imag-
ine how the Iraqis felt when their meeting room became dominated by U.S. photog-
raphers and reporters concentrating on Bush’s presence. The President did not tell
his closest aides, but he did invite along a bunch of reporters whose job it is to
publicize the trip.
And the press went along, helping build up poll numbers, as usual never realizing
that they too were being used.
Another sad chapter in the Iraq story.
The Citizens’ Advocate (USPS 750-270) is published each week by Danmara,
Inc., 446 W. Bethel, Coppell, TX 75019. Subscription rates are $15 per year.
Second-class postage paid at Coppell, TX. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to: Citizens’ Advocate, P.O. Box 557,446 W. Bethel Road, Coppell, TX
75019, 972-462-8192.
Publisher: Jean Murph
Martin Aldridge Associate Publisher: Lou Duggan Trey Hares
Fred Conger Manager: Kathryn Walker Chris Helterbrand
Rachel Euhus John Price Daniel Jane Moore
Courtney Flatt Peyton Marek Janice Stovall
Commentary
By Lou Duggan
Bush Was Right to Visit Baghdad
When Jean Murph, a longtime friend, suggested we write columns in which we
express our thoughts about Bush’s recent visit to Baghdad, I immediately agreed. I have
no idea what thoughts she planned to express, but wanted, in my column, to clearly
communicate my own insights. To that end, the opinions presented below are from the
heart, reflect my feelings on the subject, and, I hope, provide some thoughtful merit.
Lately, I haven’t always agreed with our President. I have serious concerns about
tracking domestic phone calls of American citizens, his blind support of the Patriot Act,
his apparent heavy-handed style of politics, and his proposed form of amnesty for
illegal immigrants — just to name a few. However, regarding the war in Iraq and his
visit to Baghdad, I submit the following view points:
The President Went to Baghdad to support troop morale. Thank you, Mr. President!
And, he is not the first President to do this. “Your sacrifice is noble, and your sacrifice
is important,” Bush told the soldiers. “The American people are incredibly grateful for
what you do.” As Commander-in-Chief, Bush has always expressed his support for our
troops. So... he went and told them. What’s the big deal? I’m glad he did.
My next point is one some people may not understand unless they have served in the
military. It speaks to the leadership of troops. When you order troops into combat, you
must be willing to lead them. It’s an unwritten code taught in every military leadership
course. I don’t expect “civilians” to understand this creed. Bush, as Commander-in-
Chief, has ordered troops into harms way and he feels the responsibility this entails. As
such, this was his second trip to Iraq in three years. He last went at Thanksgiving in
2003 to visit the troops. I greatly respect him for doing this.
Bush’s visit also represents his commitment to seeing through the war on terrorism.
Certainly, the Iraqi government seemed to value the President’s trip. “It’s in our inter-
ests that Iraq succeeds,” Bush told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Again, I give
the President high marks for his visit.
If, as a result of his political detractors, the terrorists thought the President to be
weak on his determination, his visit reflected the opposite. “I think the successor to
Zarqawi is going to be on our list to bring to justice,” Bush said last week. I agree with
the President again; we’re in Iraq, like it or not; so, let’s not leave until the job is done.
Some criticize the President’s leadership of the Iraqi War as one without a plan. I
disagree. In addition to routing out terrorists, the President has clearly outlined Iraq’s
need to disarm the militias, strengthen their military, and purge the Iraqi police of crimi-
nal elements. Sounds like a plan to me — however long it takes.
It does concern me when people, who have never served in the military, try to tell
our leaders how to orchestrate military action and then place a time table on it. Military
action, by its very nature, does not work that way. One accomplishes a milestone, then
another, and then another. Such effort responds to meeting incremental objectives —
not time tables. In my opinion, such incremental objectives are being met — one step at
a time. Insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead, the Iraqi Army is being trained,
the Iraqi police are ferreting out evil doers, and efforts are being made to disarm mili-
tias. I support the President’s use of objectives, not time tables.
Also, for those who criticize his trip as political opportunism, whining suits them.
Whenever the President has the slightest success in Iraq and he holds it up to the
American people, detractors say he did it for political reasons. Well, so be it! Many that
criticize him for going to Baghdad are the same ones who would criticize him for not
having gone. He can’t win with those folks anyway. I’m tired of such pessimism.
Additionally, it is my opinion the media isn’t helping troop morale. Its tough enough
being a soldier in Iraq, but the media makes it harder. War correspondents primarily
seek the bad news and the death, not the good stories and improving way of life. It
seems to me that many in the media, with some exceptions, go to Baghdad, seek out
whatever bad news they can find, type it into their laptop computers, report it to cam-
eras with a satellite feed, and “Monday-morning quarterback” the story from a safe
area secured by our troops. Then, they go back to their hotel in a protected “safe” zone,
have dinner, and get a good night’s sleep while dreaming they will receive a literary
Pulitzer for undermining the efforts of the very troops protecting them. This may
sound harsh, but it reflects my general opinion of most reporters and the news stories
I see and read.
To wrap up, I believe Bush, as President and Commander-in-Chief, exercised re-
sponsible leadership in his visit to Baghdad.
Policy on Release of Name from Police Report
In regard to release of names from police reports, should a police report
result in a news story, the names of suspects shall be released if allowed
under Texas law.
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Citizens' Advocate (Coppell, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, June 23, 2006, newspaper, June 23, 2006; Coppell, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1687402/m1/2/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Cozby Library and Community Commons.