Last night in a televised address to the nation President Bush vowed that his war in Iraq would be permanent. The idea that our children and grandchildren will be coming home from Baghdad in flag-draped caskets is just beginning to sink in. Some in the German press have taken note:
Immerhin, Bush hat ehrlich gesagt, was zukommt auf Amerika: Über Jahre, ja Jahrzehnte werde es amerikanische Truppen im Irak geben. Der Präsident will die Supermacht langfristig mit Militärbasen im Nahen Osten verankern und so den Einfluss der Mullahs in Iran - die eigentlichen Gewinner des Irakkrieges -eindämmen.
On Wenesday Barack Obama spoke about what is needed to end this war, now opposed by the vast majority of Americans.
"The American people have had enough of the shifting spin. We've had enough of extended deadlines for benchmarks that go unmet. We've had enough of mounting costs in Iraq and missed opportunities around the world. We've had enough of a war that should never have been authorized and should never have been waged.
I opposed this war from the beginning. I opposed the war in 2002. I opposed it in 2003. I opposed it in 2004. I opposed it in 2005. I opposed it in 2006. I introduced a plan in January to remove all of our combat brigades by next March. And I am here to say that we have to begin to end this war now."
Read Barack Obama's entire speech here
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