Robert Parry: Bush's Alternative Speech

June 28, 2005

It is hard to even imagine what George W. Bush would have to say if he were serious about “leveling with the American people” over the Iraq War. Here is a draft that would surely not get past the White House speechwriters:

“My fellow Americans, let me explain to you what really went wrong with the Iraq policy and why so many young Americans have died in what looks like a futile war without end.

“First, you must know that I have long obsessed about getting rid of Saddam Hussein, taking care of some unfinished business from my dad’s presidency. There’s also a lot of oil there and my neoconservative advisers wanted to project American power into the Middle East.