President Bush Praises Troops As He Prepares To Pass Presidential Baton

January 12, 2009

One of the things that President Bush is most proud of, is that the men and women who make up the United States military, without question have been up to the tasks that he, as commander in chief has set before them. Over the past 8 years, those tasks have not been easy ones. Not for those wearing the uniform or their family members. Some of the men and women under his command, have lost their lives or have returned grievously injured, as they performed the jobs that President Bush has asked of them. President Bush emphasized that being commander in chief of the military, is one aspect of his job as President of the United States, that he’ll miss the most.

“I’m going to miss being commander in chief of the military,” he told Brit Hume in a Fox News Sunday interview. “I’ve got such great respect for the men and women who wear the uniform. I’ve been through a lot with them. I’ve called upon them to do hard tasks. I’ve met with the families of the fallen and I’ve been to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC to see the wounded,” he said. “I’ve been incredibly inspired by their courage, their bravery and their sacrifice.”¹

Some of the difficult tasks that Bush asked military members to perform, was to leave their families (many more than once) to fight in the war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the decisions President Bush has made in regards to the war on terror, have garnered him much criticism from not only his Republicans, but Democrats and the citizens of the country as well. Despite the criticism, President Bush stayed the course and did what he felt was best for our Country, for the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan, for the world and for our Troops.

“During the darkest of Iraq, people came to me and said, ‘you’re creating incredible political difficulties for us,’” he said. “I said, ‘Oh really? What do you suggest I do?’” That answer, to withdraw from Iraq, was one the President didn’t agree with. “I had faith that freedom exists in people’s souls and therefore, if given a chance … an Iraqi style democracy could survive and work,” Bush said. “I don’t compromise that principle for the sake of trying to bail out my political party.”²

Regardless of people’s opinion about him, President Bush has been steadfast in his belief that the war in Iraq was the right decision, not only to increase safety on our shores, but to bring democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people who had been oppressed for so many years by Saddam Hussein and his regime. Through the many deployments and time spent away from their families, our military men and women have stepped up to the plate and performed the tasks asked of them by their commander in chief. That’s their job and they do it exceptionally well. Thank You President Bush for your service to our country and your belief and support in our Troops.

One of President Bush’s biggest concerns, as he hands the reigns of the country over to President Elect Barrack Obama, is that Americans will once again become complacent. He’s afraid that as time goes by, American citizens will once again let their guard down, which will in turn make our country vulnerable once again to terrorism on our shores again. I happen to agree wholeheartedly. We as citizens of the United States of America, not let down our guard. We must remain vigilant to the threats that are out there. Our complacency 8 years ago, cost many American lives on September 11, 2001. We must always remember that and never again let our guard down.

What the next four years in our country will bring, is anyone’s guess. Some will swear that President-Elect Obama is the answer to all that ails this country. Myself, I plan to withhold judgment and see what happens. It’s way too early to tell. Too many times, over the course of my life, I’ve heard politicians make promises, only to later be either unable or unwilling to fulfill those promises. I know full well, that the President doesn’t have complete control over what Congress chooses to do, so I will withhold judgment and see what happens. I didn’t vote for Obama, but he is who our country chose as the next President of the United States. He’s got a long, hard and trying task in front of him. He, like President Bush will make many decisions that are not popular with the citizens of this country.

The President, as leader of our country, often ends up being the scapegoat for the actions of Congress and the decisions they make. The mainstream media unfortunately plays a huge part in the viewpoint of we, as Americans. The things that the media bombards us with, often only half truths, often causes us to lose sight of what is really occurring. We tend to take what they say at face value, without investigating the facts for ourselves. Aware of this fact, the media often distorts the truth, to sway public opinion. That unfortunately makes the job as President of the United States even more difficult.

We as citizens need to remember that. We need to remember that our country was created with many safeguards in place, to keep the power to make these types of difficult decisions, out of the hands of just one person, but instead to make sure those decisions are made by a multitude of persons. We need to remember that not one person by themselves makes the decisions regarding what direction our country takes, and in the same token, not one single person should take the brunt of the anger and frustration of people, if events don’t play out the way we hope they do. Unfortunately, too often we tend to blame one person, that figure head, the President for all things wrong with this country, instead of holding accountable, each and every person responsible for those decisions. It will definately be interesting to see what the future brings to this country. It will definately be interesting to see how soon the mainstream media turns on the new administration, if events don’t happen the way the media feels that they should.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52628 [↩]
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52628 [↩]

Written by Terri · Filed Under In The News

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