The full transcript can be found here.
My favorite bit:
Our enemies in Iraq are good at filling hospitals, but they don't build any. They can incite men to murder and suicide, but they cannot inspire men to live in hope and add to the progress of their country. The terrorists only influence is violence and their only agenda is death. Our agenda, in contrast, is freedom and independence, security and prosperity for the Iraqi people.
{Emphasis mine}
Cringe-inducing bit that I'm sure the media will be ALL over:
A new Iraq will also need a humane, well-supervised prison system. Under the dictator, prisons like Abu Ghraib were symbols of death and torture. That same prison became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values. America will fund the construction of a modern maximum security prison. When that prison is completed, detainees at Abu Ghraib will be relocated. Then with the approval of the Iraqi government, we will demolish the Abu Ghraib Prison as a fitting symbol of Iraq's new beginning.Bush said "Abu Ghraib" three times and used three different pronounciations. He only got it right on the last time---barely. As the husband commented: "That's positively Freudian." I agree. Overall, it was a good speech that outlined the plan quite clearly. It's lacking in specifics, but those specifics, like the planned handover and the new Iraqi leadership, have yet to be determined. They're coming down to the wire, of course, but it would be foolhardy for Bush to line his ducks up, announce them to the public only to have them change. And with that, I bid you a'dieu for the evening. Posted by Kathy at May 1, 2004 09:30 PM | TrackBack