04 September 2004	Saturday	18 Rajab 1425

NEW YORK, Sept 3: The following are the main points of the speech by President George Bush to the Republican National Convention:

WAR ON TERRORISM: We have fought the terrorists across the earth, not for pride, not for power, but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is clear

- We are staying on the offensive striking terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. And we are working to advance liberty in the broader Middle East, because freedom will bring a future of hope, and the peace we all want. And we will prevail.

THE PRESIDENCY: I believe the most solemn duty of the American president is to protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not happen on my watch.

- I am running for President with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world, and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy: that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this Nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership and that is why, with your help, we will win this election.

CRITICISMS OF JOHN KERRY: (John Kerry's) policies of tax and spend, of expanding government rather than expanding opportunity are the policies of the past. We are on the path to the future and we are not turning back.

- I proposed, and the Congress overwhelmingly passed, 87 billion dollars in funding needed by our troops doing battle in Afghanistan and Iraq. My opponent and his running mate voted against this money for bullets, and fuel, and vehicles, and body armor.

When asked to explain his vote, the Senator said, "I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it." Then he said he was "proud" of that vote. Then, when pressed, he said it was a "complicated" matter. There is nothing complicated about supporting our troops in combat.

IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN AND ME: Because we acted to defend our country, the murderous regimes of Saddam Hussein and the Taliban are history, more than 50 million people have been liberated, and democracy is coming to the broader Middle East.

In Afghanistan, terrorists have done everything they can to intimidate people, yet more than 10 million citizens have registered to vote in the October presidential election a resounding endorsement of democracy.

Iraq now has a strong Prime Minister, a national council, and national elections are scheduled for January. Our nation is standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, because when America gives its word, America must keep its word. As importantly, we are serving a vital and historic cause that will make our country safer.

- Free societies in the Middle East will be hopeful societies, which no longer feed resentments and breed violence for export. -AFP