Necessity is the mother of invention. A meek remark followed by a threat. You are calling for help and the barking that follows disguises your troubles. Rove is a genius.
Check out Berlusconi's remarks at the end...funny eh? He's a regular expert on unity.
Al
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Bush Seeks Other Nations' Help in Iraq
1 hour, 18 minutes ago
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush (news - web sites) said Monday he is
working to persuade more nations to help in Iraq (news - web sites), where
Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) loyalists are killing coalition forces in a
war that persists alongside rebuilding efforts.
Speaking at his Texas ranch with the leader of
one supportive country, Premier Silvio Berlusconi
of Italy, Bush said, "The more people involved in
Iraq, the better off we will be."
At the same time, he accused the governments
of Syria and Iran of harboring terrorists and said
terrorism was the greatest obstacle to peace in
the region.
"This behavior is completely unacceptable," Bush said. "States that support
terror will be held accountable."
Berlusconi's visit to the ranch on Sunday and Monday gave Bush a chance
to show that not all Europe is cool to his policies, and that trans-Atlantic
relations remain strong even though France and Germany didn't back the
war effort.
"Defending freedom requires cost and sacrifice. The United States is grateful
for Italy's willingness to bear the burdens with us," Bush said.
For Berlusconi, the current president of the 15-nation European Union (news
- web sites), the stay was a reward from Bush for joining with Britain and
Spain in support of the war.
Berlusconi's support has made him unpopular with Germany and France,
and his tendency toward brashness has further muddied his relations with
Germany. On only the second day of his six-month term as EU president,
he told a German lawmaker in the European Parliament he would
recommend him for a role in a movie as a Nazi concentration camp guard.
Bush and Berlusconi, both wearing cowboy boots and navy sport coats,
talked about stopping the spread of nuclear arms, achieving peace in the
Middle East, fighting terror and mending fissures in U.S.-European ties.
"We're going to feed him some chicken," Bush said at the end of the brief
news conference held in a building near a helicopter landing zone at the
ranch.
The United States is looking to other nations, including those in Europe, to
help stabilize Iraq. France, Germany and India have refused a U.S. request
to provide troops unless there is a U.N. mandate.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites), who was at the
White House last week, has said that a new resolution under discussion
would broaden the current U.N. mandate in Iraq and internationalize the U.S.
and British operation. The U.N. Security Council declined to back the
U.S.-led war.
The White House doesn't think any new mandate is needed. Yet Bush said
he had been in close contact with Annan to discuss various ways to involve
other nations, even as attacks on U.S. soldiers continue.
"This extension of hostility is really a part of the war to liberate Iraq," Bush
said. "We're patient. We're strong. We're resolute and we will see this
matter through. And obviously, the more help we can get, the more we
appreciate it."
When asked whether countries that did not participate in the coalition would
be able to secure contracts for reconstruction in Iraq, Bush said: "The
reconstruction effort shouldn't be viewed as a political exercise. It shouldn't
be viewed as an international grab bag."
On other subjects:
_ Bush said that China, South Korea (news - web sites) and other U.S.
allies need to pressure North Korea (news - web sites) to drop any
ambitions of building nuclear weapons and turn to negotiations.
"I believe we can solve this issue diplomatically by encouraging the
neighborhood ... to tell Kim Jong Il that a decision to develop a nuclear
arsenal is one that will alienate you from the rest of the world," he said.
North Korea told U.S. officials in early July that it had completed
reprocessing 8,000 reactor fuel rods, enough weapons-grade plutonium for
about five or six nuclear bombs in addition to the one or two U.S. officials
believe Pyongyang may already have.
_ The president said he had sent U.S. forces to protect the American
Embassy and U.S. interests in Liberia (news - web sites) where heavy
fighting engulfed the capital and many deaths were reported. Bush said he
would work with the United Nations (news - web sites) to help restore a
cease-fire.
Berlusconi, using the forum to address fellow Europeans, had soothing
words for his neighbors.
"My belief is that we really need to support and develop the culture of
union and cohesion, and certainly not nurture the culture of division," the
Italian leader said through an interpreter. "Selfishness, narcissism and
division shall never win. We need to revive the huge strength of cohesion.
... This is the message which I'm going to bring back to my European
allies." |
