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| Britain |
| Bush: Europe Should Help Rebuild Iraq |
| 2003-11-20 |
| LONDON (AP) - President Bush urged Europe on Wednesday to put aside bitter war disagreements with the United States and work to build democracy in Iraq or risk turning the nation over to terrorists. Anti-war demonstrators mobilized for a march of tens of thousands on Thursday. Bush conceded in a speech that deep differences remain over Iraq, even among staunch war allies, the United States and Britain. But, he asserted, ``we did not charge hundred of miles into the heart of Iraq and pay a bitter cost of casualties and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins.’’ His speech followed an elegant welcoming ceremony with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, which included a 41-gun salute and a review of troops on foot and on horseback. Meanwhile, anti-war protesters made preparations for huge demonstrations against Bush’s 3-day state visit. There were isolated, smaller demonstrations around the city on Wednesday. At one point, as the president’s motorcade arrived at Banqueting House for his speech, noisy demonstrators could be seen and easily heard just two blocks away. The demonstrators, held back by police lines, could not be heard inside the hall where Bush spoke. Bush acknowledged differing views about U.S.-led involvement in postwar Iraq, but said, ``Whatever has come before, we now have only two options: To keep our word or to break our word.’’ ``Failure of democracy in Iraq would throw its people back into misery and turn that country over to terrorists who wish to destroy us,’’ Bush told about 400 foreign policy experts and invited guests. He was warmly received with applause. I’m struck by Bush’s basic decency: after all the invective and double-dealing, he gently calls upon the Europeans to live up to their better natures. Bush asserted that there are times, as with Saddam Hussein in Iraq, when ``the violent restraint of violent men’’ is justified. ``In some cases, the measured use of force is all that protects us from a chaotic world ruled by force,’’ he said. Bush said he still strongly supports international organizations, like the United Nations, which he bypassed in going to war in Iraq. But he said the United Nations must be willing to enforce its own demands - or lose its relevancy. Might already be lost, but here Bush is trying to help. Really amazing; one wonders what a Democrat who felt viciously snubbed by the UN would do. Turning to the Middle East, Bush cited several months of ``setbacks and frustrations.’’ He said European leaders ``should withdraw all favor and support from any Palestinian leader who fails his people and betrays their cause,’’ an Bush urged Israel to end the ``daily humiliation’’ of Palestinians and not to undercut peace prospects ``with the placements of walls and fences.’’ There he goes again, being even-handed. Also on Wednesday, Bush met with leaders of Parliament and some relatives of the 67 British victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. On Thursday, Bush meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose close support of Bush on Iraq has drawn rising public opposition in Britain. ``It really is about time we started to realize who our allies are, who our enemies are, stick with the one and fight the other,’’ Blair told the House of Commons earlier. His remarks drew loud applause. Bravo, bravo! Bush and first lady Laura Bush were guests of honor at a white-tie state dinner Wednesday night, held in room with cathedral ceilings at Buckingham Palace, where the Bushes were staying during the visit. Oversized paintings and tapestries covered the walls and the deep red carpet matched roses that overflowed from tables set with china, flatware and glasses dating to the time of King George IV in the early 1800s. ``You led the response to an unprovoked terrorist attack, which was on a scale never seen before,’’ the queen said in toasting Bush. ``Our two countries stand firm in their determination to defeat terrorism.’’ In a return toast, Bush said the United States and Britain had a long history of fighting together in defense of common values and ``once again we’re acting to secure the peace of the world.’’ Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who met with Bush for half an hour, said Bush told him he hoped the controversy over the United States holding of nine British citizens at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could be resolved ``in the next week or two.’’ Kennedy, in an interview with British television, said Bush indicated that, while the matter was under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, ``if the British authorities remain unhappy with that, then at the end of the day the Americans will have to accept that they have to come back to our country for trial under our processes.’’ That’s big news! We’ll hand them back to the Brits? Secretary of State Colin Powell, in an interview with the BBC, said he expected the issue to be resolved ``in the very near future.’’ Blair was expected to press Bush on the matter when they meet on Thursday. I think they’ve struck a deal to help Tony out of a sore spot with his people. I suspect the Brits will whack these nine about as thoroughly as we would. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #4 I don't have a problem with giving these guys back to the Brits as long as the perps understand that the US has their DNA samples and fingerprints and if they are ever found in a war zone fighting against us or in the US at all, their lives are forfeit. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-11-20 5:57:42 PM |
| #3 If Europe can't or won't, then there's no reason to sweat it - the U.S. will do all the lifting. Of course that means that the U.S. has the final word on what goes on there, but then there's no reason for anyone to have a say in something they have no investment in. Right? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-11-20 1:54:13 PM |
| #2 ``Whatever has come before, we now have only two options: To keep our word or to break our word. Great speech, but why does he make the choice so easy for Chirac? |
| Posted by: Matt 2003-11-20 7:30:17 AM |
| #1 I suspect the Brits will whack these nine about as thoroughly as we would. I wouldn't bank on it. Sentences will be shorter, death won't be an option, and imprisonment conditions, if those of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber convicted of the murder of 270 people, are an indicator, will be nothing short of disgraceful. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-11-20 6:21:04 AM |