Coronado, Calif. – President Bush commemorated the 60th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II on Tuesday by drawing comparisons between today’s fight against terrorism and the fight against tyranny three generations ago.
Speaking to a crowd of mostly sailors and Marines at a U.S. Navy base here, Bush blended the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the war in Iraq in an address designed to boost sagging national support for his war policies.
“As we mark this anniversary, we are again a nation at war,” Bush said at U.S. Naval Air Station North Island, near San Diego.
“Once again, war came to our shores with a surprise attack that killed thousands in cold blood. Once again, we face determined enemies who follow a ruthless ideology that despises everything America stands for.
“Once again, America and our allies are waging a global campaign with forces deployed on virtually every continent,” he continued. “And once again, we will not rest until victory is America’s and our freedom is secure.”
Yet as Bush appealed for national support for his war policies, dozens of protesters lined the streets nearby, waving signs such as “Support Our Troops – End Bush’s War” and “Coward-in-Chief” in a demonstration more reminiscent of Vietnam-era dissent than World War II unity.
Even among the World War II veterans invited to hear Bush’s speech, there were questions about the president’s com parisons between the two wars and eras and doubt that the outcomes would be similar.
“I don’t know who drafted his speech, but I doubt they were around back then,” said David Graham, a World War II Navy veteran who lives near San Diego.
Wearing a Navy uniform, Graham, 80, urged support for the president but said he wondered whether the war in Iraq and a battle against terrorism were winnable.
In his half-hour speech, Bush also used his strongest language in some time to criticize his predecessors’ past responses to terrorism, ranging from the hostage crisis in Iran during the Carter administration to the attack on the USS Cole during the Clinton administration.
Terrorists “concluded that free societies lack the courage and character to defend themselves against a determined enemy,” Bush said.
“After Sept. 11, 2001, we’ve taught the terrorists a very different lesson.”
