WASHINGTON, June 6: US President George W. Bush has said that it’s in America’s vital national interest to work with Pakistan to combat “ideologies of hate”.

In a speech at the US Institute for Peace, Mr Bush underlined two categories of nations: those facing a serious threat from extremists and those where America used direct military intervention to remove undesirable regimes and was now helping them build vital national institutions.

Mr Bush placed Pakistan in the first category and among the nations where terrorist networks had created safe havens and were “threatening to overwhelm their institutions”.

Countries in the other category included Afghanistan and Iraq where the US used direct military intervention to remove ‘dangerous regimes’ that threatened American people. “And now we have a special obligation to help them build free societies that become allies in the fight against these extremists,” he said.

“It’s in America’s vital interest to help all these nations combat ideologies of hate,” he said. “It’s in our security interest to eliminate safe havens for terrorists and extremists.”

Mr Bush noted that it was also in America’s interest to help develop institutions that allowed these countries to govern their territories effectively and improve the lives of their people.

Mr Bush chose the groundbreaking ceremony at the US Institute of Peace to highlight what he saw as broad objectives that had guided America’s foreign policies, particularly since the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Mr Bush noted that America won the struggle against Soviet Communism because of its policy of achieving “peace through strength”. But the struggle, he said, was not over yet.

“We’re in a different struggle today, but we’re in an ideological struggle against violent extremism.”

To beat extremism, America needed to do more, he said. “The effort requires … using the power of liberty to marginalise extremists,” he said. “And the best way to do so is to use our national resources to strengthen the institutions of freedom.”

During this struggle against extremism America had learnt that it was vital to strengthen a democratic system of government, a vibrant free press, an independent judiciary, a free enterprise system, and freedom of religion.

Mr Bush noted that it was also important to build education and health care infrastructure in countries facing the threat of extremism.

Women’s organisations that helped societies take advantage of the skills and talents of half their population also played a key role, he added.