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Bush
Defiant on Iraq Withdrawal, Mideast Agenda
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“We
will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq,” Bush
said. (Reuters)
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WASHINGTON,
February 3 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Taking an issue
with growing demands for an exit strategy from Iraq, US President
George W. Bush refused to set a timetable for withdrawing US
occupation forces from the war-ravaged Arab country.
Threatening
Syria and Iran, encouraging Egypt and Saudi Arabia to carry out
reforms and again talking about the two-state solution for Palestine,
Bush made it clear little change to his foreign policy could be
expected in the four years to come.
“We
will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq, because that
would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us
out,” Bush told a joint session of the US Congress in his annual
State of the Union address Wednesday, February 2, Agence France Presse
(AFP) reported.
There
are about 170,000 occupation troops in Iraq, 150,000 of which are
Americans that led the March 2003 invasion-turned-occupation to topple
former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein under claims of possessing
weapons of mass destruction.
“We
are in Iraq to achieve a result: A country that is democratic,
representative of all its people, at peace with its neighbors and able
to defend itself.
“And
when that result is achieved, our men and women serving in Iraq will
return home with the honor they have earned.”
Bush
said the Iraqi general elections opened what he named a “new
phase” for the United States in the war-torn country that is aimed
at scaling back to a supporting role after the polls, hailing Iraqi
voters who cast ballots in the polls.
“The
new political situation in Iraq opens a new phase of our work in that
country,” Bush said.
“We
will increasingly focus our efforts on helping prepare more capable
Iraqi security forces, forces with skilled officers, and an effective
command structure.”
“As
those forces become more self-reliant and take on greater security
responsibilities, America and its coalition partners will increasingly
be in a supporting role.”
Up
to 8 million Iraqis, some ululating with joy, others hiding their
faces in fear, cast ballots across the country Sunday, January 30,
according to estimates by poll officials.
Around
14 million Iraqis were eligible to cast ballots at some 5,700 polling
stations to elect a 275-seat National Assembly that will in turn
choose a Presidency Council and draft the country’s new
constitution.
The
Iraqi general elections were shunned by the main Iraqi Sunni groups,
which have been pressing for setting a timetable for withdrawal of the
foreign forces in Iraq before taking part in the polls.
The
Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) said the poll could not be free
with occupation troops on Iraqi soil.
The
Islamic Party also withdrew from the process, saying violence
precluded fair elections.
“Mideast
Democracy”
In
his speech, outlining his second-term strategy, the American President
laid out plans to spread democracy across the Middle East -- starting
with Iraq and a Palestinian state living at peace with Israel.
“To
promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for 350 million dollars to
support Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms,” he
said.
“The
beginnings of reform and democracy in the Palestinian territories are
showing the power of freedom to break old patterns of violence and
failure.
“The
goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by
side in peace is within reach, and America will help them achieve that
goal,” Bush maintained.
The
hawkish president said his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would
discuss prospects for furthering the peace process and developing a
Palestinian state during her visit to the region early next week in
the middle of a European tour.
The
US-sponsored roadmap peace plan envisages the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state by 2005, living in peace side by side
with Israel.
The
blueprint which aims for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside
a secure Israel has made next to no progress since its launch about
two years ago.
Bush
also urged Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two of Washington's strongest
allies in the Middle East, to lead the way in spreading freedom
throughout the region.
“The
government of Saudi Arabia can demonstrate its leadership in the
region by expanding the role of its people in determining their
future,” he said.
“And
the great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward peace
in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the
Middle East.”
Washington
considers reforms essential in the Arab and Muslim world to ease
frustrations and prejudices that it claims breed terrorism.
But
the initial US plan, known as the Greater Middle East Initiative,
provoked an outcry from many governments in the targeted countries
where anti-American feelings were and still are running high over Iraq
and Washington 's perceived bias towards Israel.
Saudi
Arabia and Egypt have led
opposition to the plan that
many Arab leaders also decried for not placing enough emphasis on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which most see as the main destabilizing
factor in the region.
Syria
& Iran
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Bush’s
speech offered little, if any change, to his foreign policy.
(Reuters)
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The
American President also issued new warnings to both Syria and Iran,
saying both countries are posing threats to the Middle East stability.
“Syria
still allows its territory, and parts of Lebanon, to be used by
terrorists who seek to destroy every chance of peace in the region,”
he said.
“We
expect the Syrian government to end all support for terror and open
the door to freedom.”
US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, earlier this week, warned
Damascus that it faced new sanctions because of “its suspected
interference in Iraq and ties to terrorism”.
The
United States accuses
Syria of
harboring “terrorists,” developing weapons of mass destruction,
and allowing foreign fighters into Iraq through its borders.
Bush
had signed into law the Syria Accountability bill which allows economic
and diplomatic sanctions
on the Arab country.
Bush
also said the threat from Iran had not diminished.
“Today,
Iran remains the worlds primary state sponsor of terror, pursuing
nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek
and deserve,” he said.
The
American President said Washington was working with Britain, France
and Germany to persuade the Islamic Republic to renounce its nuclear
ambitions and end its support for terror.
Bush
also sent a direct message to the Iranian public.
“And
to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own
liberty, America stands with you.”
The
United States, and its Mideast alley Israel, accuse Iran of secretly
trying to develop nuclear weapons but Tehran denies
the accusation,
saying it merely wants to produce fuel to generate nuclear energy.
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