WASHINGTON, Feb 1: US President George W. Bush’s foreign policy agenda, announced in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, appeared full of lofty ideals but offered little hints on how he planned to implement them.
Apparently undeterred by the victory of Muslim militants in the Middle East, President Bush once again pledged to bring democracy to “all tyrannies” but did not say how he planned to do so.
“Abroad, our nation is committed to a historic long-term goal. We seek the end of tyranny in our world,” he declared. “Some dismiss that goal as misguided idealism,” he said. “In reality, the future security of America depends on it.”
Mr Bush argued that his vision was essential to establish lasting domestic security for the American people following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“Dictatorships shelter terrorists, feed resentment and radicalism, and seek weapons of mass destruction,” said the US president.
Undeterred by the democratic election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, the sweeping gains by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’s parliamentary elections in December, or the surprise landslide triumph of Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza last week, President Bush argued that the establishment of democracies remained a sure path to destroying terrorism.
“Democracies replace resentment with hope, respect the rights of their citizens and their neighbours, and join the fight against terror,” he said. “Every step toward freedom in the world makes our country safer, and so we will act boldly in freedom’s cause.”
The US president also extended the circle of tyrannical regimes he was implacably opposed to from the original three ‘axis of evil’ countries he named in his second State of the Union speech four years ago, after the 9/11 attacks.
Although “more than half the people of our world live in democratic nations” today, he said. “(But) we do not forget the other half — in places like Syria, Burma, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Iran — because the demands of justice, and the peace of this world, require their freedom as well.” Mr Bush also vowed to stay the course in Iraq and win victory there.
“We must keep our word, defeat our enemies and stand behind the American military in this vital mission,” he said, to a resounding ovation.
“We love our freedom and we will fight to keep it,” he said earlier, adding, “We will never surrender to evil.”
Defending his decision to stay engaged in Iraq, Mr Bush said: “There is no peace in retreat ... by allowing radical Islam to work its will — by leaving an assaulted world to fend for itself — we would signal to all that we no longer believe in our own ideals, or even in our own courage.”
Assuring America’s allies across the globe of his intention to continue to fight terrorism, he said: “Our enemies and our friends can be certain: The United States will not retreat from the world, and we will never surrender to evil.”
Faced with crumbling support at home for his policies, particularly that of continued engagement in Iraq, the US president sought to assure the American people that his war strategy was working. “We are on the offensive in Iraq, with a clear plan for victory,’ he said.
The US president also urged the Iranian people to topple their government which, he claimed, only represented a small clerical class. “Tonight, let me speak directly to the citizens of Iran,” he said. “America respects you, and we respect your country. We respect your right to choose your own future and win your own freedom. And our nation hopes one day to be the closest of friends with a free and democratic Iran.”
