# Bush to meet with families of Brit soldiers killed in Iraq. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 15, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368 "2003-11-15T02:59:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/1 "2003-11-15T02:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > President Bush said yesterday he would meet the families of British soldiers who have been killed in Iraq during next week’s state visit. He also made it clear that he would do his best to bolster the prime minister’s political standing at the same time. > **[Bush to meet bereaved British relatives](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/nov/14/uk.iraq)** > > President Bush said yesterday he would meet the families of British soldiers who have been killed in Iraq during next week's state visit. He also made it clear that he would do his best to bolster the prime minister's political standing at the same... Why the hell hasn’t he met with any of the families of our dead? Are our dead not as important to his cause? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/2 "2003-11-15T03:05:56Z")
Dude, just shut up. Please. [url"[http://www.wsbtv.com/news/2477505/detail.html](http://www.wsbtv.com/news/2477505/detail.html)"]Bush meets families of dead at Fort Stewart Debunked in 20 seconds and one Google search. Is that a new record? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/3 "2003-11-15T03:07:50Z")
[Bush meets families of dead at Fort Stewart](http://www.wsbtv.com/news/2477505/detail.html) Fixed the link to make it easier for you to eat crow, **Reeder**. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/4 "2003-11-15T03:16:59Z")
> [@](#): > > After his speech, Bush planned to meet privately with families of the soldiers who died, Fort Stewart officials said. Planned? Doesn’t say he did. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/5 "2003-11-15T03:18:08Z")
Don’t you think they would have let us know that he did? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/6 "2003-11-15T03:21:15Z")
Don’t you think a snub like that would have been reported had it happened? With all the stuff you have to bitch about you sure do pick the stupid nitpicky fringe stuff to go after. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/7 "2003-11-15T03:23:07Z")
Another story about the same visit… > [@](#): > > After his speech to the troops, Bush was traveling to Mississippi to attend a fund-raiser for Haley Barbour, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove for governor. > > Later in the day, Bush was to be in Houston to help raise an estimated $1 million for the Power Center – a one-stop community development center houses an array of social services. [http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/2478202/detail.html](http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/2478202/detail.html) No mention of visiting families. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/8 "2003-11-15T03:27:12Z")
Well, technically you haven’t debunked him yet **Airman**. The article contains this sentence “After his speech, Bush planned to meet privately with families of the soldiers who died, Fort Stewart officials said.” But it doesn’t say that the president actually _did_ meet with them. I’m sure that if you dig a little harder, you can come up with some verification that the planned meetings actually took place. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/9 "2003-11-15T03:33:33Z")
Maybe not so easy. A quick google (news) on [Bush Meets With Familes](http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&edition=us&q=%22bush+meets+with+families%22&btnG=Search+News) turns up nothing. Over at google proper, the same search only turns up a few post 9/11 references. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/10 "2003-11-15T03:37:17Z")
Of course he didn’t. The fund raisers were much more important. I have searched. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/11 "2003-11-15T03:40:24Z")
You [didn’t search well enough](http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/nation/6757685.htm), then. > [@](#): > > In awarding the latest citation, Bush also paid tribute to the sons, daughters, spouses and parents who stayed behind and waited for the fighting to end. After his speech, he met privately with some of the families whose loved ones never returned. So, how about that crow, eh? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/12 "2003-11-15T03:41:54Z")
Gotta say, **AD** has something of a point. GeeDubya already stands charged (rightly, IMHO) with a being a liar and a war-monger. Now you want to bust him for being un-sentimental? Seems a little like charging Jack the Ripper with being mean to his kitty-cat. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/13 "2003-11-15T03:47:11Z")
Here’s the [morning press briefing](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/09/20030912-8.html) for that day: > [@](#): > > At Fort Stewart – gave you a little bit of a read out on that yesterday. Let me just go back through a little bit of that. The President will make remarks to approximately 20,000 troops and families. > > Q Twenty thousand? > > MR. McCLELLAN: Yes; troops and families and others at Fort Stewart. The President will personally thank our troops in the 3rd Infantry Division for their service and sacrifice in both Afghanistan and Iraq and all that they are doing to help us win the war on terrorism. The President will also talk about how America is grateful for their service and sacrifice and how America is grateful for the men and women at the base who have provided critical support to our troops when they have been abroad, and how America is grateful to the sacrifices made by the families, as well. > > Q Do you know if they – the 3rd Infantry, they sustained the highest number of casualties, right, out of any unit? Do you know that? > > MR. McCLELLAN: I don’t know that for a fact. Let me double check that. Let me continue on. The President will talk about – the focus of his remarks, beyond that, will be on the progress we are making in winning the war on terrorism. And let me give you – the President will also present the 3rd Infantry Division with – oh, let me give you a little bit on Fort Stewart. Fort Stewart is the largest military installation east of the Mississippi. It currently occupies 280,000 acres. It’s home to the 3rd Infantry Division, as I mentioned. The 3rd Infantry Division has participated in virtually every military action from World War I, World War II, Korea, Grenada, Desert Storm, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. It was established in 1917, is known as the Rock of the Marne Division. The Rock of the Marne Division. > > Q Rock of the Marne? > > MR. McCLELLAN: That’s what they’re known as. It was involved in some of the toughest fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom and helped lead our offensive into Baghdad. They returned home in September. The President will present the 3rd Infantry Division with the Presidential Unit Citation. It is awarded to units of the armed forces for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy that sets it above and apart from other units participating in the same campaign. > > Q I’m sorry, you said return, as in future tense, or past tense? > > MR. McCLELLAN: Returned in September. > > Q I don’t think they’re all back, are they? > > MR. McCLELLAN: The division returned home from Iraq in September. That’s what I have. > > Q The citation – > > MR. McCLELLAN: I’m getting to that. The Presidential Unit Citation will be presented to – on behalf of the 3rd Infantry, presented to Captain Vern Tubbs. If you’ll recall, Captain Tubbs – the President, in his remarks on Sunday night, mentioned a captain who had sent a letter to him. And this is the captain that the President referenced in his Sunday night address to the nation. > > Following Fort Stewart we will go to Jackson, Mississippi, where the President will make remarks at a Barbour for Governor event. And then this evening the President will participate in the 10th anniversary celebration for the Power Center in Houston. The President’s remarks will highlight his initiative to reach out to faith-based organizations that have a proven record of helping people in need. And then he will return to Camp David for the weekend. And remind me at the end and I’ll have the week ahead. Bush stood up and gave a speech in front of some 20,000 people. No mention of any private meeting with anyone. I’m not yet satisfied that any such meeting took place. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/14 "2003-11-15T03:51:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > So, how about that crow, eh? There you go. I searched through [whitehouse.gov](http://whitehouse.gov) and defenselink.mil, and couldn’t find anything more definitive than that he was scheduled to meet with family members. After getting burned on that “we never said Iraq was an imminent threat” thing, I’m sure you’ll excuse me for parsing stories concerning the president in the **strictest literal sense**. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/15 "2003-11-15T03:54:42Z")
Airman Doors: Reeder is not only around the bend, but is far down the road past it. I bet he pisses on every tree that’s shorter than he is because it would then be a bush. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/16 "2003-11-15T03:56:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Bush stood up and gave a speech in front of some 20,000 people. No mention of any private meeting with anyone. I’m not yet satisfied that any such meeting took place. Nor am I. It looks to me like the reporter to the “planned” and made it a did. If it had happened why was it not mentioned in the other stories as a “did”? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/17 "2003-11-15T03:58:08Z")
Well, he I still haven’t seen anything that proves the words “imminent threat” ever came from Bush’s mouth, but that’s just me nitpicking. I think we all knew what he meant. In any event, reporters are very fond nowadays of going after Bush, and if he had reneged on meeting the families, I’m sure he would have been ripped end to end over it. That’s why I thought it was a safe assumpton in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/18 "2003-11-15T04:01:12Z")
**Reeder** , my cite is just as reliable as yours. Can’t you just accept for once that you’re wrong and walk away, before more people come in here to rip you up? ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/19 "2003-11-15T04:02:10Z")
By the same token, \*\* Squink \*\*, he’s only said he _will_ meet families of dead servicemen in the UK - and at the prompting of UK journalists. Doesn’t mean he actually will, and personally, I think he’s taking a huge gamble by doing it: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3270041.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3270041.stm) \*"Mr Keys said: "I haven’t had an invitation for an interview with Mr Bush, if I did I would literally walk from Wales to London to meet the man, look him in the eye and tell what I think of him. “They didn’t die for a noble cause, they died for Bush’s political reasons, they were just sacrificial lambs.” "\* - maybe he doesn’t quite grasp some of the cultural differences between the US and UK. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368/20 "2003-11-15T04:07:37Z")
> [@](#): > > - maybe he doesn’t quite grasp some of the cultural differences between the US and UK. Him and his admin didn’t even grasp the cultural differences between the US and Iraq. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-to-meet-with-families-of-brit-soldiers-killed-in-iraq/213368.md?page=2)