Presidential Address

As you know, GWB will address the nation Tuesday evening concerning the conflict in Iraq. Our reporters at "Love During Wartime" have uncovered this early draft of the President's comments.

Good evening, fellow citizens.

As you know, I have remained resolute and firm in all my actions. Being president is hard work, and I think hard about the situation in Iraq every day.

I come to you this evening to acknowledge some mistakes. I have never done this before, because the freedom haters of the world would love to see some sign of irresolution in me. But Laura tells me there comes a time when sanity and truth are stronger than resolution. And I trust Laura.

I was not wholly truthful when I committed troops to Iraq. I wanted to attack Iraq from the day I came into office. Everybody agreed with me, because I am always right. Rummy wanted to wait until Saddam's check cleared, but everybody else was on board. I knew deposing Saddam was the right thing to do, we just had to find a reason good enough to convince you, my fellow citizens.

Following the cowardly freedom-hating attack on 9/11, I instructed our intelligence community to find links between Iraq and al Qaeda. I instructed all levels of our intelligence people to emphasize any indication that Saddam was seeking weapons of mass distraction beyond the ones we sold him ten years or so ago. I told them to de-emphasize anything that would tend to disprove it.

So, you see, we didn't really lie to you. Freedom haters lie; your president never lies to you. We merely emphasized the facts which would help us do the right thing.

And deposing Saddam was the right thing to do.

The situation in Iraq is hard. Resolving the situation in Iraq is going to be hard work. As president, I have never shirked hard work. After thinking really, really hard, I have decided that it's time to allow other countries to share in this hard work.

I am instructing Vice President Cheney to tell his former office mates in Halliburton that their oil and construction deal won't be quite as sweet as originally planned. If we are going to ask other freedom-loving countries for their help, we must let them share in the wealth.

I am asking NATO to send in troops. I am requesting reconstruction aid from the European Union. As the situation on the ground becomes more secure, I am requesting peace-keeping troops from the UN. Other internal businesses and agencies will be approached to restore basic services, medical aid, and the training of Iraqis to secure their own peace.

Many have talked about a deadline for American troop withdrawal. Look, this is a hard decision. Making hard decisions is part of the hard work presidents have to do. Although I disagreed with General Colin Powell on many issues, I do agree with his “pottery barn” analogy: you break the country, you are responsible to restore it.

However, the United State's involvement in Iraq cannot be endless. Therefore, I suggest certain minimal benchmarks which will indicate the Iraqi people are ready to govern and defend themselves. The first benchmark will be the successful completion of a constitution. Second, a new election. Once Iraq is ready for this election, I will offer the services of former president Carter to monitor those elections. With the formation of a new, independent, Iraqi council, the Iraqi government may request US withdrawal.

I would feel more secure if Iraqi forces were trained and able to maintain at least minimal order in their country. This would be my third benchmark for the withdrawal of American troops. As Rummy said this Sunday, the Iraqis must claim their freedom and fight for it.

Thank you for your kind attention and your support.

Good night, and God bless us all, everyone.