from the files of the president
by Edward Savoy
Published: March 21, 2008
- Compiled and with Introduction by Edward Savoy -
A recent Freedom of Information Act request has dug up this speech draft from President George W. Bush, dated March 19, 2003. It was apparently recently retrieved from a time capsule that the Administration had buried 5 years ago and uncovered in hopes of proving its own prescience concerning the Iraq War. Its contents are as follows:
“My fellow Americans, I write this with the certainty that, when it is delivered publicly 5 years from now, we will have witnessed the birth of democracy and freedom in the Middle East. History has proven me right that the existence of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction were a scourge that would otherwise have resulted in our sure and swift destruction. The uncovering of the bunkers upon bunkers full of these lethal weapons were a horror to our eyes unsurpassed by any other that could possibly have resulted. Our prescient move to eliminate them has ensured that peace and tranquility has been returned to the region, so that every adult and child’s heart could be filled to overflowing with love of America.
We are thankful to the Iraqi people for all of the love and support they have showed our troops. It was a proud moment of my presidency when I saw the news footage of our soldiers being greeted as liberators and not considered violent oppressors whose role it was to consolidate power in the region and participate in a hundred-year occupation. It was an even prouder moment of my presidency when I could see the Iraqi government standing on its own and leading Iraq into a new era, instead of leeching off of American power and arms and proving themselves more ineffectual than a grasshopper in a tornado. Our successes have been so bountiful that all of our troops have been able to return home and enjoy the fruits of their victory, safe from terrorism, secure that a grateful and prosperous country will tend to their every need, be it a good-paying job, affordable transportation or good medical care, such as is offered at Walter Reed.
We can also point with pride to our unsurpassed standing and reputation to the governments of the Middle East, a standing that would have been so different if it were not for our invasion. We can be proud of the prosperity that the region now partakes in and the full flowering of freedom that they now enjoy. From Israel to the new state of Palestine, from the safe oil fields of Iraq to the razed poppy fields of Afghanistan, the Middle East is united, not in the hatred of America, but in progress.
With this success in mind, my legacy cannot be in doubt. I once spoke of wonder-working power, power that the president can exercise for the benefit of his country. There is no greater honor for me than to be able to say that I wielded this wonder-working power to create a peace that the world has never known.”
The document is signed “George W. Bush, March 19, 2003.”
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