Bush defends foreign policy drive
United States President George W Bush claims his drive to spread democracy and freedom is the best way to combat terrorism and calls this a hopeful time in the Middle East.
Bush was outlining his case in a speech today at the National Defence University, a centre for professional military education at a US Army base in Washington.
The US president plans “to update the American people on the progress that we’re making in the war on terrorism and to talk about the remarkable developments that are taking place in the broader Middle East,” said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.
In particular, he cited elections in Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan and pressures in Lebanon for Syria to withdraw its troops.
Bush’s speech marks a return to the trademark theme of his successful re-election campaign.
After the election, Bush turned his focus to an uphill battle to redesign the US social security program radically by offering personal investment accounts, a step that would be accompanied by a reduction in future benefits.
While polls show that more than half the Americans oppose his US social security overhaul, a solid majority approves his handling of the terrorism fight.
In his inaugural address, Bush emphasised his intention of spreading freedom and democracy “with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world”.
“That is how we will win the war on terrorism,” McClellan said in a preview of Bush’s remarks.
“We’re making tremendous progress in the Middle East toward freedom and democracy,” the president’s spokesman said. “But this is a generational commitment, one that is difficult and requires determination and resolve. Our objective will not be achieved easily, nor will it be achieved all at once.”
Bush has described Iraq as the front line in combating terrorists. More than 1,500 US troops have died there since Bush launched the invasion in March 2003.
