My two favorite lines from Bush’s speech:

“Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me”

“Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed for two principal reasons: There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents and there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have.”

It is utterly ridiculous that the strongest military in the world has not been able to secure a country almost three years after deposing its dictator. At least Bush finally admitted in public what many of us already know. Our soldiers were sent there and told to fight with their hands tied behind their back. They actually have to be allowed to kill the enemy. Instead they have been standing there getting picked off like they’re first prize in a turkey shoot.

I was against going into Iraq, but the decision was made to do it and we must be successful in our endeavor. Sending another 10,000 troops to the country will only be a waste of lives, time, and money if they can’t go there and actually be allowed to fight a war. We either have to do it right or not at all.