"We're not winning, we're not losing."
- President George W. Bush, in a striking semi-reversal from his pre-election statement, "Absolutely, we're winning."
Q Are we winning?
THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely, we're winning.
Press Conference by the President
The East Room
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061025.html
October 25, 2006
10:31 A.M. EDT
Q Mr. President, less than two months ago at the end of one of the bloodiest months in the war, you said, "Absolutely we're winning." Yesterday you said, "We're not winning, we're not losing." Why did you drop your confident assertion about winning?
THE PRESIDENT: My comments -- the first comment was done in this spirit: I believe that we're going to win; I believe that -- and by the way, if I didn't think that, I wouldn't have our troops there. That's what you got to know. We're going to succeed.
Press Conference by the President
Indian Treaty Room
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061220-1.html
December 20, 2006
10:00 A.M. EST
Bush will ask for more than $100 billion extra for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, on top of the $70 billion already OK'd for this fiscal year.
That's 50% more than originally expected for Fiscal Year 2007!
Since September 11, 2001, Congress had spent over $500,000,000,000 (500 Billion) in Iraq & Afghanistan. An extra $100 billion for terror-related expenses will put it over the top.
The Vietnam War only cost $549 billion, adjusted for inflation.
Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Army Chief of Staff, warned Congress last week that the active-duty Army "will break" under the strain of today's war-zone rotations.
Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, a retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on CBS News's "Face the Nation" on Sunday that "the active Army is about broken."
Democrats said at the beginning that more troops were needed. John Kerry proposed increasing troop strength by 40,000 during his presidential campaign against Bush.
Bush pooh-poohed him.
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