What If Bush Had Given This Speech After 9/11?

By Andrew Birnbaum

My fellow Americans,

We have been attacked in a most destructive and horrific manner. We are crying out in pain and mourning, and as your President, I feel your hurt most deeply. And I want to assure you I recognize the need for swift and decisive action to deter future attacks. So I want to outline, right here and right now, my plan for securing our safety and our childrens' futures.

Our world is too often filled with bitterness and anger. The people who committed the atrocious acts of 9/11 clearly intended to increase hatred and violence in our world. If we do nothing else, we must ensure they fail in this mission. We must deny them our hatred. Indeed, we must forgive them for their trespasses against us.

To be clear, forgiveness does not mean letting the perpetrator's horrific acts go unpunished. We must, MUST, identify any and all persons who committed, planned and financed these grave crimes, and once we have, we must bring them to justice. I fully intend to ensure the guilty parties stand trial, in person, in the United States. That is the most important thing I will say to you tonight, so let me repeat it:

I fully intend to ensure the guilty parties stand trial, in person, in the United States.

Yes, our pain is deep. But as Americans, we must honor our values by proceeding in a smart and deliberate manner.

Without a doubt, we are the greatest military power the planet has ever known, with the bravest, best trained fighting force and the largest nuclear arsenal. But we are also a compassionate nation, and we do not seek to use our military capabilities, except as a last resort. We must remember this attack was committed by individuals, and it is these specific individuals we must bring to justice. We must be very careful not to cause harm or pain to innocent civilians. We know what it is like to lose loved ones, and the most un-American thing we could do is to inflict a similar pain on others. Some of my advisors are urging me to invade multiple countries. This I cannot do. I simply cannot at this time risk prolonged and bloody wars that weaken our military, harm women and children, and outlast my Presidency.

Many patriotic Americans have asked if there is anything they can do to secure our nation. My answer is an emphatic yes. Our intelligence agencies have determined that a majority of the hijackers came from or were trained in the very countries we most depend on for our oil supply. We will be focusing our investigative efforts in these countries. We expect to encounter massive resistance from the local governments, especially if we try to expedite responsible persons to the United States. Our reliance on these nations for our energy needs directly conflicts with our national security interests.

So I am calling on every American to do his or her part to conserve energy, effective immediately. Use public transportation. Carpool. Walk. Buy a bike. Turn off lights when you do not need them. No action is too small to make a difference. From this day forward, refuse to purchase any car that does not get a minimum of 35 miles per gallon. Such cars are available in every price range. I checked this out myself. These changes will not only improve our national security, they will preserve our planet for future generations. And please realize the alternative to saving energy will be to send the brave men and women of our military into harm's way. For their sake, let's try this first.

I am further requesting Congress designate one billion dollars to hire math and science teachers in public schools nationwide. To lessen our dependence on foreign oil, we must develop alternative energy sources. If we expect our nation's youth to tackle these issues, we must provide them the finest math and science educations available.

Citizens from other countries have been generous in their support for America in light of these attacks. I humbly request these people assist the United States by ensuring their governments not take our place as trading partners with any nations that refuse to cooperate with our investigation. The American people are generous, but they will not wait forever to see justice served. It is in our common best interest to achieve a swift and efficient resolution.

One thing we have learned is the people behind the 9/11 attacks were religious fanatics. I am more convinced than ever civilized people must separate religion from government. I will not call any national days of prayer, and I will not use public moneys to fund religious institutions or programs. The God I believe in is so powerful he needs neither corporate welfare nor propaganda to thrive. And I will replace the saying "God Bless America" with concrete actions that prove our continued worthiness of such a high honor.

Using diplomacy, not violence, to achieve justice may seem novel, but it is not unprecedented. I ask that you enlarge your vision of weaponry, and recognize that just as we have a mighty military muscle, we also have a mighty economic muscle. We are the largest economy in the world and that is the leverage we must use first. I intend to use our economic influence to ensure that all countries cooperate with our efforts to identify and extradite the persons responsible for the vicious 9/11 attacks, no matter how much oil they have. I humbly request your support.

May every American love every other American. May every person love every other person.

Thank you and good night.

Andrew Birnbaum @ shenluk.blogspot.com