All the news that fits in print

   Last night, US President George W. Bush unveiled his "new plan" for Iraq on national television. For those of you who missed it, I have excerpted several key portions of his speech below. You should study this transcript in some detail, as it is important to keep abreast of what your government is doing to "preserve your freedom." I copied these from the transcript available on CNN.com. I stole the picture from there, as well.

President Bush on TV last night.

"The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people - and it is unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me."

"So my national security team, military commanders, and diplomats conducted a comprehensive review. We consulted members of Congress from both parties, our allies abroad, and distinguished outside experts. We benefited from the thoughtful recommendations of the Iraq Study Group - a bipartisan panel led by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. In our discussions, we all agreed that there is no magic formula for success in Iraq. And one message came through loud and clear: Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States."

"For the safety of our people, America must succeed in Iraq. This will require increasing American force levels. So I've committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq. This troop increase will not only allow us to continue to make the same mistakes all over again in Iraq, it will allow us to plot a new course, to make bold new mistakes we have previously not undertaken."

"Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences: In earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of terrorists and insurgents - but when our forces moved on to other targets, the killers returned. This time, we will have the force levels we need to eliminate every living thing in the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods and kill every man, woman, child, and pet they encounter."

"This new strategy will not yield an immediate end to suicide bombings, assassinations, or IED attacks. In fact, we can expect these attacks to increase dramatically as the Iraqi people continue to resist our best efforts to pacify bring democracy to them. Most of Iraq's Sunni and Shia want to live together in peace. This is something we cannot allow."

"As we make these changes, we will continue to pursue al Qaeda and foreign fighters in Iraq, and many other places where we can find no credible evidence of their presence."

"Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity - and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. Our presence in Iraq can expect to be duplicated in those countries in the near future. Eventually, American freedom fighters will occupy any territory where a terrorist threat can be said to exist, including Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, France, and Red China."

"Victory will not look like the ones our fathers and grandfathers achieved. There will be no surrender ceremony on the deck of a battleship. There will be no triumphant return of American servicemen. We will simply declare that we have won, and expect the people of the United States to believe us, just as they have believed the rest of our lies to date."

"Fellow citizens: The year ahead will demand more patience, sacrifice, resolve, and American and Iraqi deaths. It can be tempting to think that America can put aside the burdens of freedom. Yet times of testing reveal the character of a nation. And throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists, to say nothing of international law, and seen our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new struggle that will occupy our country for a new century. We can and we will prevail."

"We go forward with trust that the author of liberty will guide us through these trying hours. Thank you and good night."

Tags: news, CNN, George W. Bush, Iraq, new plan, asshat