state of the union

Looking at the State of The Union address, it doesn’t sound too much like the US are going to war tomorrow. To my mind they've kept a few doors open;

The first goal is the economy
The war has already started, it started 9/11
The US will be consultative on Iraq
An invasion of Iraq will be thru the UN
They are pushing for a democratic Palestine

It could be argued that it is just propaganda but it was a major speech not a doorstop.

(News extract)
After hearing Bush's speech, some retired military officers said they did not hear a rush to war as many expected.

"I did not see him advocate violence or use of mass destruction," said retired Army Major Wayne Johnson. "What he has said is we will deal with those who advocate those things against us."

Although there seem to be constant announcements of military deployments across the Valley, experts say that doesn't necessarily mean we are on the brink of war, as much as we are in a stage of preparation for war.

"There is a battle plan somewhere on how we want to attack Iraq," said Brigadier General John Zierdt, Jr., retired from the U.S. Army. "So it will take quite a few weeks to get a reservist in Huntsville to go somewhere like Fort Benning, get them trained and put into a unit...but may take another month before they get into the area of operations."



The following are some extracts from GW 's SOU address, the full transcript is on

http://www.upi.com/print.cfm?StoryID=20030128-083443-9087r


"To protect our country, we reorganized our government and created the Department of Homeland Security, which is mobilizing against the threats of a new era."

"Our first goal is clear: we must have an economy that grows fast enough to employ every man and woman who seeks a job."

"This Nation can lead the world in sparing innocent people from a plague of nature. And this Nation is leading the world in confronting and defeating the man-made evil of international terrorism."

"There are days when the American people do not hear news about the war on terror."

"The war goes on, and we are winning."

"We are working closely with other nations to prevent further attacks"

"We have the terrorists on the run, and we are keeping them on the run. One by one, the terrorists are learning the meaning of American justice."

"As we fight this war, we will remember where it began here, in our own country. This government is taking unprecedented measures to protect our people and defend our homeland."

"In Afghanistan, we helped to liberate an oppressed people"

"In the Middle East, we will continue to seek peace between a secure Israel and a democratic Palestine."

"We have called on the United Nations to fulfill its charter, and stand by its demand that Iraq disarm. We are strongly supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency in its mission to track and control nuclear materials around the world. We are working with other governments to secure nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union"

"The United States will ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February 5th to consider the facts of Iraq’s ongoing defiance of the world. Secretary of State Powell will present information and intelligence about Iraq’s illegal weapons programs, its attempts to hide those weapons from inspectors and its links to terrorist groups. "

"We will consult, but let there be no misunderstanding: If Saddam Hussein does not fully disarm for the safety of our people and for the peace of the world, we will lead a coalition to disarm him."