Echoing the latest talking point from conservative media, Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy claimed that President Obama never said the word “win” during his December 1 West Point speech on the war in Afghanistan, and on-screen text stated, “Pres never spoke of winning the war.” In fact, Obama repeatedly referred to a “successful” end to the war.
Fox & Friends runs with claim that Obama never said the word “win” during West Point speech
Published
Fox & Friends claimed, “Pres never spoke of winning the war”
From the December 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:
DOOCY: Interestingly enough, of the 4,581 words in his speech, one word was missing. That word was “win.”
But Obama repeatedly discussed a “successful” end to the war
Obama: 'I want to speak to you tonight about ... the strategy that my administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion." From the first sentences of Obama's December 1 speech [emphasis added]:
OBAMA: Good evening. To the United States Corps of Cadets, to the men and women of our Armed Services, and to my fellow Americans: I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan -- the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion. It's an extraordinary honor for me to do so here at West Point -- where so many men and women have prepared to stand up for our security, and to represent what is finest about our country.
[...]
OBAMA: Because this is an international effort, I've asked that our commitment be joined by contributions from our allies. Some have already provided additional troops, and we're confident that there will be further contributions in the days and weeks ahead. Our friends have fought and bled and died alongside us in Afghanistan. And now, we must come together to end this war successfully. For what's at stake is not simply a test of NATO's credibility -- what's at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world.
[...]
OBAMA: Third, we will act with the full recognition that our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan.
Conservative media hype claim that Obama never said “victory” during speech
RedState's Erick Erickson: “In 4608 words, he did not once mention the word 'victory.' ” In a December 1 blog post on the conservative website RedState.com, Erick Erickson wrote: “Barack Obama spoke at West Point tonight on the issue of Afghanistan. In 4608 words, he did not once mention the word 'victory' and the closest he came to using the word 'win' was those three letters appearing in the word 'withdrawing.' ”
Fox Nation: “Major Wartime Speech But Obama Doesn't Say 'Victory' or 'Win'?” The Fox Nation linked to a FoxNews.com article about Obama's speech along with the headline, “Major Wartime Speech But Obama Doesn't Say 'Victory' or 'Win'?” The article, however, said nothing about whether Obama used the words “victory” or “win.”