[Mb-civic] A Very Slight Change in the Script - Dan Froomkin - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

A Very Slight Change in the Script

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, August 23, 2005; 1:24 PM

President Bush's visit to Utah yesterday offered a great example of the 
White House's version of highly stylized Japanese Kabuki theater.

Although the speech Bush gave was largely an amalgam of previous 
addresses, White House reporters were urged to note the extraordinary 
significance of the president -- for the first time anyone can remember 
-- actually acknowledging the number of soldiers who have died in Iraq.

Yes, after months of painstakingly avoiding specific mention of the 
extent of American casualties in the war, Bush somewhat startlingly had 
this to say yesterday:

"We have lost 1,864 members of our Armed Forces in Operation Iraqi 
Freedom, and 223 in Operation Enduring Freedom. Each of these men and 
women left grieving families and loved ones back home. Each of these 
heroes left a legacy that will allow generations of their fellow 
Americans to enjoy the blessings of liberty. And each of these Americans 
have brought the hope of freedom to millions who have not known it."

Here's the text 
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050822-1.html> of the 
speech, given to a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Salt Lake City.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/08/23/BL2005082300618.html

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