Bush and Uribe Talk Terror and Security

As late night talk show comedians continue to deliver monologues needling President Bush for lolling around on his LONG vacation, I will continue to comment on what Bush is REALLY doing.

President George W. Bush and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe pose with their wives, U.S. first lady Laura Bush and Colombia first lady Lina Moreno at the President's Central Texas ranch in Crawford, Texas, on August 4, 2005. White House photo by Paul Morse

Yesterday, President Bush met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. They held discussions on terrorism and drug trafficking.

"Colombia shares our commitment to advancing economic growth, trade and democracy in the Americas. Colombia is also sharing its expertise with Afghanistan to combat terrorism and narco-trafficking in that new democracy," Bush said at a joint press conference he held with Uribe.
Excerpts from Uribe's opening statement:
The great enemy of Colombian democracy is terrorism. And our great partner in defeating terrorism has been the government and the people of the United States. Allow me to say here to the rest of the world that U.S. cooperation has been exemplary. It has gone beyond rhetoric, and it has, in fact, been cooperation that has been put in practice. And all democratic countries need to know that, that cooperation should be realistic and put into practice.

We have made progress, and we are winning, but we have not won yet. And that is why it is important to continue with this cooperation, as you have said, that you have asked from the Congress, President Bush. We cannot leave this task half-finished. We must take it all the way to the end. We need a definitive victory for both democratic peoples of Colombia and the United States, and also, we must keep that objective in mind as we build upon our results to keep moving forward to that final goal.

We trust that we will soon be able to announce the successful completion of our free trade agreement -- an agreement built on trust; an agreement that can help bring our democratic peoples closer together and in more solidarity. The key word in Colombia today is "trust." This is the mutual trust that is the basis of the relationship with the United States. It is trust that we want to create among Colombian people, themselves.

...Thank you once again, President Bush, for your friendship, for your solidarity, and you honor us by welcoming us here to your home.

After their opening statements, the two leaders answered questions from the press.

The topics included the space shuttle Discovery, Venezuela, and al-Zawahiri.

Example:
Q Thanks, sir. Al Qaeda's number two, Dr. al-Zawahiri, is warning that attacks will continue until U.S. troops leave Iraq. How serious a threat is this? And after so many Marines were killed this week, what's being done to improve their safety?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First, let me say that we mourn the loss of every fallen troop. And the community outside of Cleveland, Brook Park, Ohio, suffered mightily over the last couple of days. It's -- the people of Brook Park and the family members of those who lost their life, I hope they can take comfort in the fact that millions of their fellow citizens pray for them. I hope they also take comfort in the understanding that the sacrifice was made in a noble cause.

We're laying the foundation of peace for generations to come. We're defeating the terrorists in a place like Iraq so we don't have to face them here at home. And, as well, we're spreading democracy and freedom to parts of the world that are desperate for democracy and freedom.

The comments by the number two man of al Qaeda make it clear that Iraq is a part of this war on terror, and we're at war. In other words, he's saying, leave. As I have told the American people, one, that people like Zawahiri have an ideology that is dark, dim, backwards; they don't trust -- they don't appreciate women; if you don't agree to their narrow view of a religion you'll be whipped in the public square. That's their view, and they have tactics to help spread that view. In other words, they've got goals. They want to spread that point of view throughout the world, starting in the broader Middle East. And part of their goal is to drive us out of the broader Middle East, precisely what Zawahiri said. In other words, he's threatening.

They have come up against a nation that, one, will defend itself. Zawahiri is a part of that team that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001. He was part of an al Qaeda group that said, well, we'll try to achieve our objective in attacking America. They must not have understood the nature of our country. I vowed then that we would stay on the offense against these people. We owe it to the American people, and other freedom-loving countries, to bring these killers to justice. And that's what they are: they're terrorists, and they're killers. And they will kill innocent people trying to get us to withdraw from the world, so they can impose their dark vision on the world. That's what they're trying to do. And the comments today by Mr. Zawahiri absolutely reinforce what I've just told you.

We will stay the course, we will complete the job in Iraq. And the job is this: We'll help the Iraqis develop a democracy.


President George W. Bush and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe shake hands during a joint press conference at the President's Central Texas ranch in Crawford, Texas. White House photo by Paul Morse
Leno or Letterman making jokes about Bush's vacation is one thing. It's their job to entertain and they look for fodder to fuel their shows. Therefore, I give them a pass, albeit reluctantly, on joking about Bush's supposed down time.

However, when the press continues to take jabs at Bush for the length of his vacation, it bugs me.

It bugs me because they're covering the President's activities, and they know he's not spending August in a hammock.