Bush says anti-war protests threaten to weaken the United States

Bill Moyer, 73, wears a "Bullshit Protector" flap over his ear while President George W. Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

August 23, 2005

DONNELLY, Idaho (AP) - President George W. Bush said Tuesday that anti-war protesters such as Cindy Sheehan, who want U.S. troops brought home immediately, are "advocating a policy that would weaken the United States."

In remarks to reporters outside an exclusive resort where he is vacationing, Bush gave no indication that he would change his mind and meet with Sheehan when he returns to his Texas ranch Wednesday evening.

Sheehan, who lost a son in Iraq and has emerged as a harsh critic of the war there, has been maintaining a vigil outside Bush's ranch that has attracted other anti-war protesters.

Bush said that two high-ranking member of his staff have already met with her.
© The Canadian Press 2005

"And more from the new McCarthyism White House"

Bush Believes Those Who Protest Iraq War Don't Want U.S. to Win 'War on Terror,' Spokesman Says

NEW YORK Meeting briefly with reporters Monday aboard Air Force One, Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman subbing for Scott McClellan, said that President Bush believes that those who want the U.S. to begin to change course in Iraq do not want America to win the overall "war on terror."

Duffy spoke on a day when a surprisingly large antiwar protest met the president during his stay in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he addressed a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.

Speaking to reporters, Duffy said that Bush "can understand that people don't share his view that we must win the war on terror, and we cannot retreat and cut and run from terrorists, but he just has a different view. He believes it would be a fundamental mistake right now for us to cut and run in the face of terrorism, because if we've learned anything, especially from the 9/11 Commission Report, it is that to continue to retreat after the Cole, after Beirut and Somalia is to only empower terrorists and to give them more recruiting tools as they try to identify ways to harm Americans.

"So he believes that people have a fundamental right to express their views. That's one of the reasons we're fighting this war on terrorism, to protect our fundamental rights. But at the same time, he disagrees strongly."

The briefing ended with this exchange:

Q Cindy Sheehan's group is airing commercials in Utah, again asking the President to meet with her. And there's going to be protests planned. Is the President -- does he know about these protests, about these commercials at all, and does he have any response?

MR. DUFFY: No. I don't have any -- there are people along the side of the road wherever the President goes, supporters and others. So the President is certainly aware. But, again, he believes that Americans, obviously, have a right to express their views. That's part of being American. That's one of the things we're fighting for.