28 January 2008
America Is Spreading the Hope of Freedom, Bush Says
President outlines priorities for final year in State of the Union address
Washington -- “Men and women who are free to determine their own destinies will reject terror and refuse to live in tyranny,” President Bush told Congress in the final State of the Union address of his administration January 28. “That is why, for the security of America and the peace of the world, we are spreading the hope of freedom.”
“Our foreign policy is based on a clear premise: We trust that people, when given the chance, will choose a future of freedom and peace,” Bush said, declaring renewed U.S. commitment to the Middle East peace process, support for emerging democracies against the forces of extremism and new humanitarian aid initiatives to confront the challenges of hunger and disease worldwide.
FOREIGN POLICY ROOTED IN FREEDOM, PEACE
Bush said there was “cause for hope in the Holy Land,” expressing his support for Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who pledged to restart negotiations at a November 2007 conference held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, with the goal of concluding a peace agreement and setting the stage for a Palestinian state by the end of 2008. (See related series.)
“Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel. Israelis have leaders who recognize that a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state will be a source of lasting security,” Bush said. “The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace.”
On Iraq, Bush urged Congress and the American people to continue their support and help Iraqis build on recent security gains.
Security conditions in Iraq have improved following a “surge” of 25,000 additional coalition forces, Bush told Congress. Iraqi security forces have been strengthened with 100,000 new recruits, and 80,000 Iraqis are cooperating with authorities to take back their communities from extremists by forming a “grassroots surge” of their own by forming 130 concerned local citizens groups.
“While the enemy is still dangerous and more work remains, the American and Iraqi surges have achieved results few of us could have imagined just one year ago,” Bush said.
“Among the terrorists there is no doubt,” Bush later added, “Al Qaida is on the run in Iraq, and this enemy will be defeated.”
The United States began withdrawing its coalition reinforcements in November 2007, and if security conditions continue to improve, Bush said that as many as 20,000 will follow in the coming months.
“Our objective in the coming year is to sustain and build on the gains we made in 2007, while transitioning to the next phase of our strategy,” Bush said. “American troops are shifting from leading operations, to partnering with Iraqi forces, and, eventually, to a protective overwatch mission.”
The United States remains committed to supporting security operations, political reconciliation and reform in the coming year, Bush said, as well as local development through the operation of civilian-led provincial reconstruction teams.
“The Iraqis still have a distance to travel,” Bush said. “But after decades of dictatorship and the pain of sectarian violence, reconciliation is taking place -- and the Iraqi people are taking control of their future.”
In Afghanistan, U.S. forces have joined 40 nations in the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force to help its people transform another former al Qaida safe haven into a young democracy where boys and girls can attend school, new roads and hospitals are being built and people are looking to the future with renewed hope, Bush said.
To ensure continued progress Bush announced that the United States will contribute 3,200 more Marines to the international peacekeeping effort in Afghanistan to train Afghan troops and police units to safeguard their country.
Bush said that the United States would continue to oppose genocide in Sudan and support freedom in countries from Cuba and Zimbabwe to Belarus and Burma, as well as push for the Iranian government to stop its support to terrorist groups, suspend its controversial nuclear program and come to the negotiating table. (See related article.)
“To rejoin the community of nations, come clean about your nuclear intentions and past actions, stop your oppression at home, and cease your support for terror abroad,” Bush said. “But above all, know this: America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf.”
NEW HUMANITARIAN AID PROPOSALS
Advancing freedom also means helping nations address hunger, disease, poverty, illiteracy and other factors that can allow violent extremism to take root, and Bush highlighted his administration’s continuing commitment to humanitarian aid, health care and educational programs for the developing world in his final year.
“America is using its influence to build a freer, more hopeful, and more compassionate world,” Bush said. “This is a reflection of our national interest and the calling of our conscience.”
Bush cited programs to help 15 African nations cut malaria deaths in half, and asked Congress to reauthorize his administration’s initiative to combat HIV/AIDS in 120 countries -- the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) -- and double funding for that program from $15 billon to $30 billion over the next five years. (See related article.)
“We can bring healing and hope to many more,” Bush said.
Bush also will introduce a new proposal to help nations break the cycle of famine by allowing U.S. government agencies providing food assistance to purchase crops directly from farmers in the developing world. The United States provides half of the world’s food aid, delivering $1.7 billion in emergency food to 23 million people in 30 countries during 2007. (See related article.)
These initiatives are likely to figure prominently in his upcoming five-nation tour of Africa February 15-21.
“Seven years have passed since I first stood before you at this rostrum. In that time, our country has been tested in ways none of us could have imagined,” Bush said. “History will record that amid our differences, we acted with purpose. And together, we showed the world the power and resilience of American self-government.”
The full text of the State of the Union Address as prepared for delivery, as well as fact sheets on the president's freedom agenda, border security and immigration, open markets and free trade, energy security and climate change, progress in Iraq and the U.S. humanitarian agenda are available on America.gov.
