Bush challenges UN to support him in Iraq
President George Bush, again facing sceptical world leaders, today challenged the UN to support his plan for steady transition to democratic rule in Iraq, saying the war torn nation “needs the help of friends.”
In a jab at France and others demanding an immediate end to the US-led administration of Iraq, he told the UN General Assembly in New York: “This process must unfold according to the needs of Iraqis – neither hurried nor delayed by the voices of other parties.
“So let us move forward,” said Bush, who also invited the UN to play an expanded role in Iraq’s reconstruction.
He said the world body should assist in preparing a constitution for Iraq, help train civil servants and conduct free and fair elections.
“Every young democracy needs the help of friends,” Bush said.
Second, Bush called for a worldwide drive to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. ’The deadly combination of outlaw regimes, terror networks and weapons of mass murder is a peril that cannot be ignored or wished away,” he said.
In the audience, at the General Assembly, sat Ahmed Chalabi, this month’s president of the Iraqi Governing Council, and President Jacques Chirac of France, who opposes Bush’s plan for Iraq.
Bush told world leaders they must stand with the people of Iraq and Afghanistan as they build free and stable countries.
“The terrorists and their allies fear and fight this process above all, because free people embrace hope over resentment,” he said.
The president faced similar opposition earlier this year in trying to marshal the United Nations to support war with Iraq.
Bush acknowledged that differences over the war persist after opposition earlier this year when the United States tried to marshal the United Nations to support war with Iraq.
Chirac has called for quick symbolic transfer of civilian control to the Iraqis, with full control being handed over within six to nine months.
