Much like May 1945, when we prepared to shift victorious forces from Germany--even as we had to prepare to occupy that defeat country--in order to mass sufficient ground forces to invade Japan, we will scrape up the brigades to deal with Iran. Even though our Army was stretched in 1945 with absolutely no rotation base at all, we prepared to occupy a third nation of the original Axis. Those who won in Europe would have no rest and would be sent to the Pacific to win there, too. We had to win with the Army we had and not the Army we wish we had.
And the President reminded us that this Long War is much like the long Cold War in some ways.
The President's commencement speech to Army gradutates of West Point seems to me to show that we are still on offense in this war.
Listen to some of what he said:
While there are real differences between today's war and the Cold War, there are also many important similarities. Like the Cold War, we are fighting the followers of a murderous ideology that despises freedom, crushes all dissent, has territorial ambitions, and pursues totalitarian aims. Like the Cold War, our enemies are dismissive of free peoples, claiming that men and women who live in liberty are weak and lack the resolve to defend our way of life. Like the Cold War, our enemies believe that the innocent can be murdered to serve a political vision. And like the Cold War, they're seeking weapons of mass murder that would allow them to deliver catastrophic destruction to our country. If our enemies succeed in acquiring such weapons, they will not hesitate to use them, which means they would pose a threat to America as great as the Soviet Union.
Against such an enemy, there is only one effective response: We will never back down, we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory. (Applause.)
Like previous generations, history has once again called America to great responsibilities, and we're answering history's call with confidence. We're confronting new dangers with new determination, and laying the foundations for victory in the war on terror.
In this new war, we have set a clear doctrine. After the attacks of September the 11th, I told a joint session of Congress: America makes no distinction between the terrorists and the countries that harbor them. If you harbor a terrorist, you are just as guilty as the terrorists and you're an enemy of the United States of America. (Applause.) In the months that followed, I also made clear the principles that will guide us in this new war: America will not wait to be attacked again. We will confront threats before they fully materialize. We will stay on the offense against the terrorists, fighting them abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. (Applause.)
In this new war, we have acted boldly to confront new adversaries. When the Taliban regime in Afghanistan tested America's resolve, refusing our just demands to turn over the terrorists who attacked America, we responded with determination. Coalition forces drove the Taliban from power, liberated Afghanistan, and brought freedom to 25 million people. (Applause.) In Iraq, another tyrant chose to test America's resolve. Saddam Hussein was a dictator who had pursued and used weapons of mass destruction, he sponsored terrorists, invaded his neighbors, abused his people, deceived international inspectors, and refused to comply with more than a dozen United Nations resolutions. (Applause.) When the United Nations Security Council gave him one final chance to disclose and disarm, or face serious consequences, he refused to take that final opportunity. So coalition forces went into Iraq and removed his cruel regime. And today, Iraq's former dictator is on trial for his crimes -- and America and the world are better off because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. (Applause.)
In this new war, we have helped transform old adversaries into democratic allies. Just as an earlier generation of Americans helped change Germany and Japan from conquered adversaries into democratic allies, today a new generation of Americans is helping Iraq and Afghanistan recover from the ruins of tyranny. In Afghanistan, the terror camps have been shut down, women are working, boys and girls are going to school, and Afghans have chosen a president and a new parliament in free elections. In Iraq, the people defied the terrorists and cast their ballots in three free elections last year. And last week, Iraqis made history when they inaugurated the leaders of a new government of their choosing, under a constitution that they drafted and they approved. When the formation of this unity -- with the formation of this unity government, the world has seen the beginning of something new: a constitutional democracy in the heart of the Middle East. (Applause.) Difficult challenges remain in both Afghanistan and Iraq. But America is safer, and the world is more secure,
because these two countries are now democracies -- and they are allies in the cause of freedom and peace. (Applause.)
The President has declared that we cannot live with the threats arrayed against us. He declared that our enemies seek nothing less than our total defeat. He said that we will remain on the offensive against our terrorist enemies given the new technology of WMD that they seek. He declared that the policy announced after September 11 that nations that harbor terrorists will be treated like terrorists is still our policy.
The President noted that when the Taliban refused to turn over bin Laden and his minions, we destroyed them. When Saddam refused to demonstrate he had disarmed and given up his ambitions of nuclear weapons, we destroyed his regime.
The President noted that our operations against Afghanistan and Iraq turned tyrannical enemies into democratic allies who are fighting terrorists at our side.
The President did not mention Iran by name. But this speech seems to me to be all about Iran. To me, this speech tells me that we will not sit on the defensive and count on the good will of Iran's mullahs to keep us safe. We will attack. And more than attack--we will change the mullah regime and turn a despotic enemy that oppresses its people into a democratic ally.
We will not wait for after the 2008 elections. We will not wait for Tony Blair to be removed from his leadership position by his party. These two stood together recently and I think a momentous decision was made.
We're getting ready for war. Regime change and the destruction of the regime's nuclear facilities and military assets should be the goal. I've been going back and forth on what we should do, what is possible, and what we will do. Lately, and with this speech reinforcing my feeling, I think we will pursue regime change as our strategy. How our air and ground power will figure in to this, I don't know--but they will, I think.
The war against the mullahs will begin soon, I think.
