Operation Welcome Home

If tomorrow

all the things were gone

I'd worked for all my life

And I had to start again

With just my children

and my wife

I'd thank my lucky stars

To be livin' here today

Because the flag

still stands for freedom

And they can't

take that away

And I'm proud to be

an American

Where at least

I know I'm free

Because there ain't

no doubt, I love this land

God bless the U.S.A.

The Chairman

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

General Colin Powell.

We're all very proud

of those Marines and sailors.

We're also proud

of the soldiers and the airmen

and the Coast Guardsmen,

all the G.I.s

of our armed forces

who showed what this nation

is capable of;

who showed that

we stand for something

and, yes, we do more

than stand for something.

We're willing to fight

for something.

America loves them.

America is proud of them,

and America thanks them

for what they did

for the cause of freedom.

I thought Saddam Hussein would

realize that we were serious,

but he's even dumber

than I thought he was

because once you send

Bob Hope into a theater,

it usually means you're serious

and we're going to win.

But in the final analysis,

it came down to brave,

young men and women who were

willing to go in harm's way.

Summer, 1990.

America at peace.

A nation at play,

in pursuit of its values

and traditions.

After 40 years of Cold War

and confrontation

with the Soviets,

America was preparing

for a peaceful future.

While America looked inward,

far off in Iraq, Saddam Hussein

was building the fourth

largest army in the world

with weapons supplied

by the Soviets

and the western alliance.

Ironically, some

of the very nations

that would confront Saddam

in Operation:
Desert Storm.

Yet, beyond his military power,

the depth of Saddam's brutality

was reflected

in his repression at home

by public hangings

and the apocalyptic

scenes at Halabja,

where he gassed to death over

5,000 Iraqi Kurds in 1988.

In building up

his personality cult,

Saddam took

a most dangerous gamble

when he surprised the world

by invading Kuwait

on August 2, 1990.

It was a gamble that triggered

an immediate response

from the United States.

It is not the United States

against Iraq.

It is Iraq against the world.

A response which initiated

the most massive mobilization

and troop buildup

since the Vietnam War,

with the support

of the American people,

a combination

of new military leadership

and high-tech weaponry

were brought together to contain

Saddam's threat

to the world order.

I loves you!

I love you so much!

From the lakes

of Minnesota

To the hills of Tennessee

Across the plains

of Texas

From sea to shining sea

And across America,

a new wave of patriotism

swept the nation

as American families saw

their sons and daughters

go off in defense of liberty

in order to free

the Kuwaiti people

and prevent further Iraqi

aggression against Saudi Arabia.

And I'm proud to be

an American, where at least...

And the playing fields

of America

would become empty

with the departure

of America's sons and daughters.

And I'd gladly stand up

Next to you and

defend her still today

'Cause there ain't no doubt

I love this land

God bless the U.S.A.

And I'm proud

to be an American

Where at least

I know I'm free

And I won't forget

the men who died

Who gave that right to me

And I'd gladly stand up

Next to you and

defend her still today

Because there ain't

no doubt I love this land

God bless the U.S.A.

While Americans debated about

the tactics of confronting

Iraq's aggression,

at no time did they deny support

for their sons

and daughters in uniform.

God bless the U.S.A.

In August 1990,

America was preparing to

confront the aggressor's might

in Operation:
Desert Shield.

George Bush would

draw a line in the sand

against further

Iraqi aggression.

American soldiers would

learn from their leaders

what America expected of them.

Everybody's recognizing

that they probably

won't be a war in Europe,

something we worried

about for 40 years.

Everybody's saying it's going

to be a world of peace;

things are going to

be different.

Couldn't be, that

in this kind of new world,

we still have

this kind of an aggressor.

And then, over

the last few days of July

and then into early August,

the first day of August,

it became clear

that this buildup

that was taking place just

north of the Kuwaiti border

was much too large

a buildup simply to be

a threat or something

to scare Kuwait.

But Mr. Hussein was

giving assurances

to all of his friends

and neighbors

that, "no, I'm not

going to attack,"

and the next day, he did attack.

In a few short hours,

he subjugated a free

and independent country

by the force of arms.

What you're doing

is very important,

because it sends a message

that this is a new era.

It is a new world.

The United States and

Soviet Union are cooperating.

The U.N. is working again,

but there are still bad people

in the world.

Mr. Hussein, Saddam Hussein,

is a bad person,

and he's got to understand

that kind of aggression

can't be tolerated.

One of the great joys I had

and it was

with a deep sense of pride

that when the president

called us up to Camp David

and I went up

with your Commander-In-Chief,

General Schwarzkopf,

and we laid out for him

what we could do

and what our options were

and what the Air Force could do

and what the Army could do

what the Navy could do and what

the Marine Corps could do,

what the Coast Guard could do...

the great source of pride

to me was to know

that I wasn't just

blowing hot air.

I wasn't just making it up.

I knew what

the Armed Forces could do

because I know the kind

of troops you guys are.

I know the kind of capability

you have in your weapons.

I know the kind

of capability that exists

and the kind of leadership

that you have.

I know what you are like

because I've seen you

at the national training center

and I visited the 24th

when I was force com

commander last year,

so I knew what the Armed Forces

of the United States could do.

I knew that if

the president called on us,

we could do just what he asks us

to do and do it in short order.

And here, in a matter

of 5 weeks and 2 days,

we have assembled

well over 100,000 soldiers.

Well, well over 100,000

soldiers, sailors and Marines,

airmen and Coast Guardsmen and

have put a force in place here

in the kingdom and in the other

nations around the kingdom

that will make it clear

to Saddam Hussein

that he ain't going no further.

The president's put down

the marker

that working with

our other friends,

The United Nations,

Soviet Union,

around the world, the

aggression's going to be stopped

and we won't be satisfied

until Mr. Hussein

takes his army out of Kuwait

and lets the Kuwaiti people

have their country back.

So you guys are

an important part of all that.

You're what makes it possible

for the United States to

play its role in the world.

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