Address to the Nation

For more than four years I've been waiting for George Bush to deliver an adult speech about the war on terror. A speech that acknowledges all the complexities and uncertainties inherent in asymmetrical warfare. Sunday night Bush finally delivered the speech. But here's the key, I didn't see it on TV, I read the text of the speech on the White House web site. Bush's physical appearance and manner are so alarmingly unpresidential that I've finally resorted to reading the speeches and don't even bother to TiVo the suckers. John Podhoretz of The New York Post offers a pretty smart take on the speech:

"And yes, he said, there is a serious argument against his entire approach in Iraq and the War on Terror that cannot simply be dismissed. The loss of life and limb in Iraq 'has led some to ask if we are creating more problems than we are solving.'

He called that question 'important,' and said 'the answer depends on your view of the War on Terror.'

Those killing and maiming American troops include foreign terrorists, which has made Iraq a battlefield in the terror war. 'If you think the terrorists would become peaceful if only America would stop provoking them, then it might make sense to leave them alone,' he said.

This is a very simple, but ultimately accurate, reflection of a strain of so-called 'realist' thought that courses through the non-psycho criticisms of the Bush administration policy. We are under attack, according to this line of thinking, because we are being provocative towards our attackers.

'This,' Bush said, 'is not the threat I see.' 'My conviction comes down to this,' Bush said. 'We do not create terrorism by fighting the terrorists. We invite terrorism by ignoring them.'

Thus, in a gesture rare for any president, did Bush fairly summarize criticism of his policy and then attempt to rebut it in a straightforward and humble fashion.

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