[jdynwa]

Aside from GWB's quotes, my favorite part of the article is the beginning, when AP complains that Bush is "escalating the debate". Literally for years, Democrats and other extremists have been screaming that Bush lied, "misled us into war", "Bush lied and people died", calling him everything from incompetent to a criminal mass murderer. All charges proven to have no truth behind them, inevitably.

Through all that time, I don't recall the media complaining that the Dems were "escalating the debate", though in fact their tactics were the equivalent of Saddam using chemical weapons (a WMD) to kill his own people and try to wipe out an entire Kurdish villiage. But when Bush points out that they are "speaking politics now", whoa, THAT'S "escalating the debate"! NOW we know who the bad guy is!

I just love having an unbiased media, don't you?

Good news is, the Democrats are shrieking like banshees. Naughty boys always do when they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar. And they have nothing to offer, but to repeat the same tired lies even more.

It's about time Bush took the gloves off. The leftists have had them off for months, if not years.

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http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/....ap/index.html

Bush says war critics 'playing politics'
On way to Asia, president says Democrats send 'mixed signals'

Monday, November 14, 2005; Posted: 8:36 p.m. EST (01:36 GMT)

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AP) -- President Bush escalated the bitter debate over the Iraq war on Monday, hurling back at Democratic critics the worries they once expressed that Saddam Hussein was a grave threat to the world.

"They spoke the truth then and they're speaking politics now," Bush charged.

Bush went on the attack after Democrats accused the president of manipulating and withholding some pre-war intelligence and misleading Americans about the rationale for war.

"Some Democrats who voted to authorize the use of force are now rewriting the past," Bush said. "They're playing politics with this issue and they are sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy. That is irresponsible."

The president spoke to cheering troops at this military base at a refueling stop for Air Force One on the first leg of an eight-day journey to Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia. (Watch: Bush to address business, bird flu -- 2:01)

During the stopover, he also met privately with families of four slain service members.

After a Latin American trip with meager results earlier this month, the administration kept expectations low for Asia.

"I don't think you're going to see headline breakthroughs," national security adviser Stephen Hadley said on Air Force One.

He dashed any prospect that Japan would lift its ban on American beef imports during Bush's visit and said a dispute with China over trade and currency would remain an issue after the president returns home.

On Sunday, Hadley acknowledged "we were wrong" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but he insisted in a CNN interview that the president did not manipulate intelligence or mislead the American people.

Iraq and a host of other problems, from the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina to the indictment of a senior White House official in the CIA leak investigation, have taken a heavy toll on the president.

Nearing the end of his fifth year in office, Bush has the lowest approval rating of his presidency and a majority of Americans say Bush is not honest and they disapprove of his handling of foreign policy and the war on terrorism. (Poll story)

Heading for Asia, Bush hoped to improve his standing on the world stage.

"Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war, but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people," Bush said.

He quoted pre-war remarks by three senior Democrats as evidence of that Democrats had shared the administration's fears that were the rationale for invading Iraq in 2003. Bush did not name them, but White House counselor Dan Bartlett filled in the blanks.

--"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively
to develop nuclear weapons." -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat.

--"The war against terrorism will not be finished as long as [Saddam Hussein]
is in power." -- Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat.

--"Saddam Hussein, in effect, has thumbed his nose at the world community. And
I think that the president's approaching this in the right fashion." -- Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who was then the Democratic whip.

"The truth is that investigations of the intelligence on Iraq have concluded that only one person manipulated evidence and misled the world -- and that person was Saddam Hussein," Bush charged.

(Full text of the article can be read at the URL above)