Griper News: Bush: 'Where Mistakes Have Been Made, the Responsibility Rests with Me'

President Bush's address to the nation was pretty much as advertised. He "committed more than 20,000 additional American troops to Iraq," with five brigades devoted to Baghdad alone. But most disturbing was the de facto promise to step up violence.

Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences: In earlier operations, Iraqi and American forces cleared many neighborhoods of terrorists and insurgents, but when our forces moved on to other targets, the killers returned. This time, we'll have the force levels we need to hold the areas that have been cleared. In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter those neighborhoods -- and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated.

I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people -- and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people. Now is the time to act. The Prime Minister understands this. Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."

He also made an admission.

The situation in Iraq is unacceptable to the American people -- and it is unacceptable to me. Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me.

What those mistakes were, he didn't really get into. Bush probably figured we didn't have the hours it would take to listen to the list. The unspoken implication is that he didn't send enough troops in the first place, but there are plenty of others; like going into Iraq in the first place.

UPDATE: Democrats offer a somewhat different plan in their response.

Speaker Pelosi, Press Release:

--Shifting greater responsibility to the Iraqis for their security and transitioning the principal mission of our forces from combat to training, logistics, force protection, and counter terrorism operations;
--Beginning the phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months; and
--Implementing an aggressive diplomatic strategy, both within the region and beyond, which reflects the continuing obligation of the international community to help stabilize Iraq and which assists the Iraqis in achieving a sustainable political settlement, including by amending their constitution.