Bush to laud Iraqi elections in State of the Union address
President George Bush is set to hail the elections in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories as evidence democracy is expanding, as part of his State of the Union address tonight.
He will also reaffirm his commitment to using diplomacy to deter the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran and push his plans to reform the US social security system in his 40-minute speech before the US Congress and a televised audience.
On Iraq, Bush will encourage the international community to support the Iraqis following their historic election last weekend, urge the international community to help train Iraqi security forces and make the struggling nation a model for democratic reform in the Middle East.
Although he will propose families of US troops killed in Iraq, Afghanistan and war zones receive extra cash in government payments, Bush is not expected to outline any exit strategy for US troops as Democrats in the US Congress are demanding.
Bush will devote the first half of his speech to domestic matters and the second half to international issues.
He is expected to herald gains in the US economy, which finished 2004 with its best performance in five years despite slowing in the final stretch. Economic growth clocked a 4.4% increase for all of last year, spurred by brisk consumer and business spending.
Under pressure from his conservative base, the president will reiterate his plans to send Congress what he’s described as a “tough budget, no doubt about it” – one which he claims will slice the federal budget deficit in half in five years.
Bush’s ideas for changing the 70-year-old Social Security programme made just two sentences in last year’s address. This year, it is the signature topic.
Other domestic initiatives Bush is expected to mention in his speech include getting US Congress to require high school students to take maths and reading tests; pass his energy bill; place limits on medical malpractice lawsuits; approve an immigrant guest worker programme and confirm his nominees for federal judgeships.
