Bush to hit back at Allies in speech
US President George Bush, hitting back at allies, will tell the United Nations the war against Iraq was “the right decision” and that it’s time to put differences aside and join together in a major reconstruction effort.
In an address to the General Assembly tomorrow, the president will also urge other nations to help stop the spread the weapons of mass destruction and halt slavery around the world, White House officials said.
Bush’s unyielding stance came as Russian President Vladimir Putin said America’s failure to stabilise Iraq had convinced him that the war was a bad idea, while French President Jacques Chirac called for the immediate transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people.
Bush today said he is not sure the United States will have to yield a significantly larger role to win support for a new UN resolution on Iraq. He also continued to insist on an orderly transfer of authority to the Iraqis rather than the quick action demanded by France.
“I do think it would be helpful to get the United Nations in to help write a constitution,” Bush said in an interview taped for television. “I mean, they’re good at that.”
“Or, perhaps when an election starts, they’ll oversee the election. That would be deemed a larger role,” he said.
Bush said he will assert that he “made the right decision and the others that joined us made the right decision” to invade Iraq.
The White House put a positive spin on the remarks of Putin and Chirac, saying they made welcome comments about a shared commitment to help the Iraqi people and transferring responsibility as quickly as possible.
As for divisions over the war, presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said, “One of the messages the president will take to the United Nations is that is behind us now.”
Bush said he will ask other nations to do more to help stabilise Iraq.
“We would like a larger role for member states of the United Nations to participate in Iraq,” Bush said in the interview with Fox News. “I mean, after all, we’ve got member states now, Great Britain and Poland, leading multinational divisions to help make the country more secure.”
Asked if he was willing for the United Nations to play a larger role in the political developments in Iraq to get a new resolution, Bush responded, “I’m not so sure we have to, for starters.”
But he said he did think it would be helpful to get UN help in writing a constitution for Iraq.
Germany, France and Britain have also called for more authority for the world body in Iraq, as Washington debates with its allies over a new UN resolution.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, however, has not joined France’s call for a quick hand over of power to Iraqi, backing the US stance instead.
“The key on any resolution,” Bush said, “is not to get in the way of an orderly transfer of sovereignty based upon a logical series of steps. And that’s constitution, elections, and then the transfer of authority.”
Bush said he would tell the United Nations that while some countries did not agree with the US-led military action in Iraq, it’s now in the international community’s best interest to not only rebuild Iraq, but also rebuild Afghanistan, fight Aids and hunger, deal with slavery and proliferation of unconventional weapons.
