Thursday, January 08, 2009

Bush Honoured With Parade

An armed forces parade honoring the service of President George W. Bush as commander in chief took place Tuesday at the gymnasium at Fort Mayer in Arlington Va. In a speech, Bush acknowledged that his military decisions haven’t always been popular. He defended his actions, which include taking the country into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and told an assemblage of troops representing all branches of the military that they have served a “just and right” cause. "The missions you have carried out have always been necessary. And the work you have done has ... been every bit as courageous and idealistic as that of any generation that came before you.”

Bush said U.S. troops helped liberate the people of Afghanistan and Iraq from the “chains of despotism” and he thanked them for that. He talked about the boost in military enrollments in response to the terrorist attacks. And he noted that the troops are never alone in shouldering the burdens of lengthy and repeated deployments far away from home and their loved ones. “We appreciate you, we love you and we honor your service,” Bush said.

Above: Lieutenant Colonel Creedon, USMC, Rear Admiral Justice, USCG and other members of the armed forces applaud the great George W. Bush.

Before the president spoke, Adm. Mullen, CJSOS, and SECDEF Gates thanked Bush in separate speeches on behalf of the more than 2 million military men and women. Mullen read from a journal, signed by service members, that he said he had passed around during his travels. One entry, from a member of the Air Force, said: “Nice to see that our president is still quick on his feet after eight years in office. Next time, pick up the shoe and throw it back.”

Gates, who has agreed to continue as defense secretary when Barack Obama becomes president, said Bush will leave behind a U.S. military that is “more agile, lethal and prepared to deal with the full spectrum of 21st century conflict” than when Gates last served in government 15 years ago.Bush received several honors, including the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, and the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal from the five military branches.

Nearly finished with his eight-year presidency, Bush has been saying his goodbyes to the uniformed men and women under his command, including recent stops in Iraq and Afghanistan and at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Source: DefenseLink / AP

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Surely awarding the supreme commander of the American Military forces, the Commander-in-Chief the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, a civilian award is an insult?, No?

Anonymous said...

yeah... you know, normally I am all for paying the proper respects. But this whole thing with the Obamas NOT being able to temporarily bunk in the Blair House and having to go to a hotel is heinous.

How can you in good conscience receive the honors bestowed upon you for your time in office while showing disrespect to the next holder of the office?

The very definition of "a dick move."

Anonymous said...

But Constance the Ex Prime Minister of Australia is booked in there and I'll think if you check the Reservations he booked first!

Anonymous said...

So you're saying that the ex-Prime Minster of Australia is the sinister leader of a shadowy multinational cabal who is holding Bush's daughters captive in a secret location on an undisclosed island somewhere in the Pacific(he lured them there with the promise of getting a killer tan... how little did they know how true that might be...)?

Just because he's desperate to stay in the lodging of his choice? But he could have found such a great deal on priceline.com!

All joking aside: If you were the one holding things up, and Bush was on the way out and the new leader of the free world was on his way in, and you wanted to secure some goodwill for your country, would you not have said "Please, President Elect Obama, you simply must have my reservation."

Or, if you were a forward thinking clerk who made the reservations at Blair house, and you knew that the election was happening in 2008 and that the President gets inaugurated in January of the following year, would you not have maybe blocked out the reservation for the house in order to wait and see what happened with the election?

Or, if you were the Ex Prime Minister of Australia, would you maybe seek accommodations via your own Embassy? Because if as Ambassador you are a personal representative of your nation's government, well... can't your nation's former governor crash on your couch?

I just hope I live long enough to find out what this whole crazy thing was really all about! Since Oliver Stone will probably be retired by then, maybe you'll have to make the movie!!!

Anonymous said...

Blair house has 113 rooms and 35 toilets, that's all I'm gonna add to this.

Anonymous said...

Grunt, surely you are not suggesting that the former PM of Australia SHARE his already tiny accommodations?