Chuck Baldwin -- The President's Press Conference: Hardly Reassuring

THE PRESIDENT'S PRESS CONFERENCE: HARDLY REASSURING

By Pastor Chuck Baldwin

April 16, 2004

NewsWithViews.com

Listening to the president's press conference earlier this week created more angst than assurance. If President Bush intended to comfort the American people regarding the tenuous situation in Iraq, he didn't succeed.

In the first place, the president repeatedly talked about "changing the world," what's "good for the world," and "freedom for the world." Call me naïve, but since when is it the responsibility of an American president or the American nation to "change the world"? Is G.W. Bush the President of the United States or is he the ruler of the world? I wonder if he knows.

The tone of the president's press conference left little doubt that George W. Bush is a globalist of the highest order. We knew his father was. Now, it is more than obvious that Dubya is, as well.

I'm sure most of my readers recall that it was George Herbert Walker Bush who introduced the term "New World Order" to America. Many elitists have since spoken and written loquaciously on the subject, but it was Bush, Sr. who first broached the idea of a new international order.

It seems lost to Bush I and to Bush II that the United States is an independent nation and has no authority or commission to "change the world." Not only is internationalism not humanly possible, it is contrary to everything the United States stands for and, furthermore, it is downright devilish in nature.

Independent nationhood is the gift and plan of God. Anyone attempting to bring about an international "New World Order" will meet with the same fate as did the builders of Babel. That President Bush would justify the attack on Iraq by saying we are "changing the world" is disconcerting, to say the least.

Secondly, President Bush said the United States would "pass sovereignty" to Iraq. That is an incredible statement to make! National sovereignty is not the gift of the United States; it is the gift of God! Furthermore, when did Iraq vote for American occupation of their country? Everyone (including the Bush administration) knows that if elections were held in Iraq today, they would vote to kick the U.S. out of their country tomorrow!

Does President Bush see the American government as the grantor of state sovereignty? Does he regard the United States as the great determiner of nationhood? If he does (and his rhetoric makes it sound as if he does), he is nothing more than a modern day Caesar!

Thirdly, it was hardly reassuring when President Bush acknowledged that he didn't have a clue to whom control of Iraq would ultimately be given. The specific question was, "And, Mr. President, who will we be handing the Iraqi government over to on June 30th?"

Bush answered by saying, "We'll find that out soon. That's what [U.N. envoy Lakhdar] Brahimi is doing. He's figuring out the nature of the entity we'll be handing sovereignty over."

WHAT???

The president has no clue who we will hand power to but he is dogmatic that we will do it by June 30! Furthermore, I thought the idea was to give the Iraqi people freedom. If that is true, it means they would be free to decide for themselves whom they wanted in power, would they not? What is this talk, then, of "the entity" we'll be handing power to? Forgive me, folks, but the president totally lost me on that one!

Let's be honest: Iraq is a mess! The troops that came home are quickly heading back. It is doubtful that we are even capable of sending and keeping enough troops to and in Iraq to properly control the situation there. We have no plan for getting out. Bush said that even after we turn control over to this phantom "entity" on June 30, "And we'll need to be there for a while." How long is "a while"? A year? A decade? A century? I have no idea and neither does President Bush.

We are stuck in a nasty quagmire in Iraq that has already cost hundreds of American lives and thousands of American casualties, not to mention billions of taxpayer dollars. And there is no end in sight.

Even more frustrating is the reality that the United States is no safer today than we were before we invaded Iraq! Everyone knows now that Iraq did not pose an imminent risk to the United States. We also know that Saddam Hussein, though a ruthless dictator in his own country (one of scores around the world, by the way), had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks in 2001.

Beyond that, the one man who did mastermind the terrorist attacks in 2001, Osama Bin Laden, is still on the loose, and the country that has done the most to finance and support Osama's terrorists, Saudi Arabia, is still on best terms with the United States and with President Bush. The president has repeatedly wined and dined the Saudi leader at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, even as our young men are fighting the war against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It would be easy for those of us who were opposed to the invasion of Iraq to gloat now and say, "We told you so." But somehow nothing such as that is in me. Instead, I feel sorrow and grief---and concern.

As a father of three, my heart grieves for the families and loved ones of those brave men and women who died trying to carry out the orders of their Commander in Chief. I feel sorrow and a deep sense of national regret that somehow they sacrificed their lives for someone's political agenda.

Furthermore, I have deep concern that my country's leaders are once again committing the lives and safety of the United States to a very jeopardous future. When it comes to war, the loss of American lives, the safety and security of our country, there should be no politics. There should be no Democrat or Republican, no liberal or conservative. It doesn't seem, however, that our political leaders truly comprehend that.

Therefore, this is no time to gloat, or to crow, or to proclaim glib partisan propaganda. It is time to pray for America and for our leaders, because I don't think they have a clue what they are doing. And like it or not, agree with it or not, we will all live with the consequences.

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Chuck Baldwin is Founder-Pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. In 1985 the church was recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence.

Dr. Baldwin is the host of a lively, hard-hitting syndicated radio talk show on the Genesis Communications Network called, "Chuck Baldwin Live" This is a daily, one hour long call-in show in which Dr. Baldwin addresses current event topics from a conservative Christian point of view. Pastor Baldwin writes weekly articles on the internet http://www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com and newspapers.

To learn more about his radio talk show please visit his web site at: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com. When responding, please include your name, city and state E-mail: chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com

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"Therefore, this is no time to gloat, or to crow, or to proclaim glib partisan propaganda. It is time to pray for America and for our leaders, because I don't think they have a clue what they are doing."