Bush stands on war platform
2004-01-21 07:30
Washington - US President George W Bush swung his re-election bid into high gear on Tuesday, defiantly defending the invasion of Iraq and urging voters to keep the war on terrorism on track by giving him a second term.
Addressing a joint session of Congress and millions of television viewers three years to the day after taking office, Bush hoped to snatch the spotlight from opposition Democrats vying to challenge him in the November 2 election.
The result was a wide-ranging speech in which he signalled support for a possible effort to ban homosexual marriage, claimed credit for the reviving US economy, and fiercely defended the US-led March invasion of Iraq.
But while Bush unveiled a doubling of monies aimed at promoting democracy in the Middle East, he did not once mention the conflict pitting Israel against the Palestinians or reassert his support for creating a Palestinian state.
On Iraq, he charged that those who pushed for explicit UN approval of the war or worried about opposition from traditional allies like France and Germany would have imperilled US security over "the objections of few".
America will never seek a permission slip
"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country," said Bush, who also brushed aside the embarrassing failure of US-led forces to find the weapons of mass destruction.
Scaling back the more explicit charges he made in last year's State of the Union, Bush said investigators had found evidence of "mass destruction-related programme activities" and insisted that "we are seeking all the facts."
But "had we failed to act, the dictator's weapons of mass destruction programmes would continue to this day," he insisted, as veteran Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy shook his head in disbelief.
Leaves us isolated abroad
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi later countered that Bush "has pursued a go-it-alone foreign policy that leaves us isolated abroad and that steals the resources we need for education and health care here at home."
Bush explicitly tied US military action in Afghanistan and Iraq to Libya's surprise pledge last year to give up its unconventional arms programmes after nine months of secret talks with the United States and Britain.
"One reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible. And no one can now doubt the word of America," he said. "Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better."
About 500 US troops have been killed in Iraq, half since Bush announced the end of major combat in a May 1 speech, and US troops have yet to find the weapons of mass destruction at the core of Bush's case for war.
"The work of building a new Iraq is hard, and it is right. And America has always been willing to do what it takes for what is right," said Bush, who has argued that democracy and prosperity in Iraq will transform the Middle East.
- AFP