PARIS, Sept 29: The United States will rejoin Unesco on Wednesday after a 19-year absence, US first lady Laura Bush said on Monday.

Although she was applauded politely when she made the announcement, her words with regard to the success of the US occupation of Iraq, and the American presence in Afghanistan, met with a deafening silence.

She cited a Gallup poll which claimed that fully 63 per cent of the residents of Iraq now live a better life than before the invasion.