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White House Press Briefing by Dana Perino 3/24/08 (4,000 U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq)
— Monday, March 24, 2008 —
 Q The 4,000 U.S. deaths in Iraq -- does the President regard that as a significant milestone? What's it mean to him?MS. PERINO: President Bush thinks that every single loss is tragic, from the very first several years ago to the ones that sacrificed yesterday. And he's extremely proud of the courageous men and women in uniform and all that they've done to help protect Iraqis, to protect each other and to protect this country. Most of the families of the fallen that he meets with have one request of the President, which is: Do not let my loved one's sacrifice be in vain. And the President assures them that he is committed to staying and fighting and winning. And one of the reasons he's taking such careful deliberation over the next few weeks as we lead up to the April time frame is because he wants to make sure that the gains that we have secured over this past year are cemented and that we lay the foundation for Iraq to have a democracy where they can govern, sustain and defend itself right there in the Middle East. The enemy we face is brutal. They have killed thousands of people around the world, innocent men, women and children. And they have killed our soldiers as well. And the President believes that taking the fight to the enemy is the best way to combat them for our own national security. But he definitely feels the loss. He gets a report about every single soldier who passes away, and he always pauses a moment to think about them and to offer a prayer for their loved ones and their family and friends. Q Aren't there also families of the bereaved who ask him to stop the war? MS. PERINO: There have been, but the vast majority have all asked him not to allow that sacrifice to be in vain. But certainly there are some. Q The "vast majority"? Can you say that with certainty? MS. PERINO: Well, he has said that repeatedly, and that is true for the I think almost nearly a thousand families of the fallen that he's met with. Q Does he take responsibility for a war he started without provocation that led to 4,000 deaths and 30,000 dramatically injured for life? MS. PERINO: Helen, as you know, as he said many times, he was the one responsible for making the decision to go to war. He didn't make it lightly. And as Commander-in-Chief, the hardest thing that you do and that he's done, and that any Commander-in-Chief before him and those in the future, the hardest thing that they will do is decide to commit our men and women to harm's way. Q Did he foresee this kind of catastrophe? MS. PERINO: I think that he knew that the war was going to require sacrifices and that -- Q By who? MS. PERINO: Well, of course by our soldiers. Q There's nobody in his family or this administration in this war. MS. PERINO: Helen, these are all questions we have dealt with before. I've given you an answer in the President's reaction to the 4,000 and I'm going to move on. Dana Perino | Helen | Iraq | President Bush | Press Briefing | War on Terror | White House Press Corps Labels: Dana Perino, Helen, Iraq, President Bush, Press Briefing, War on Terror, White House Press Corps
Posted by White House Press Corps @ 7:57 PM
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