President Bush's address to the nation about Iraq is tough-minded, although his delivery tonight is not the best (why not from the Oval Office and why standing up?).
I'm glad to hear him acknowledge and respond to the involvement of Iran in actively promoting death and chaos in Iraq, although measures both substantial and belligerent will be required to really make an impact.
Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity and stabilizing the region in the face of extremist challenges. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria. These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq.We're also taking other steps to bolster the security of Iraq and protect American interests in the Middle East. I recently ordered the deployment of an additional carrier strike group to the region. We will expand intelligence-sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies. We will work with the governments of Turkey and Iraq to help them resolve problems along their border. And we will work with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating the region.
The White House has posted the accompanying National Security Council Iraq Strategy Review (pdf) and the official speech transcript.
The Defeatocrat response: predictable and pathetic, both in content and style - why is Dick Durbin looking around the room instead of into the camera? Oh, there are reporters present - he can't take his eyes off them.
UPDATE: Iran watcher Michael Ledeen is pondering what I'm pondering.
Posted by Alan at January 10, 2007 08:27 PM