Bush likens war against terrorism to WWII
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-03 09:36

Likening the terrorism fight to the World War II struggle against tyranny, U.S. President Bush urged support Wednesday for his efforts to spread freedom and democracy in the Middle East despite the angry distrust of many Arabs.

U.S. President George Bush delivers the commencement address at the Air Force Academy in Colo., on Wednesday, June 2, 2004. [AP Photo]

"This is the great challenge of our time, the storm in which we fly," Bush told 981 Air Force Academy cadets graduating in a stadium at the foot of the Rockies.

Just as events in Europe determined the outcome of the Cold War, events in the Middle East will determine the fate of the terrorism fight, Bush said in a 45-minute foreign policy speech.

"If that region is abandoned to dictators and terrorists, it will be a constant source of violence and alarm, exporting killers of increasing destructive power to attack America and other free nations," Bush said. "If that region grows in democracy and prosperity and hope, the terrorist movement will lose its sponsors, lose its recruits and lose the festering grievances that keep terrorists in business."

Democratic transformation of the Middle East is at the top of Bush's agenda at the summit of the world's eight industrialized nations next week in Sea Island, Ga.

Bush, who leaves Thursday on a trip to France and Italy, wants European leaders to embrace his vision, which some have criticized as an example of the United States imposing its views on others.

America's image is low in the Arab world because of postwar troubles in Iraq, the belief that U.S. policy is biased toward Israel and the publication of pictures showing abuse and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners. The president invited several Middle Eastern nations to the summit. Two of the region's powerhouses, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, said they would not attend.

Bush knows that democratic change throughout the region is not likely if the project is stamped "Made in the U.S.A." Throughout his speech, he used sweeping rhetoric to hitch his vision to the desires of all free nations and convince Americans that they need to see the war in Iraq in the broader context of the terrorism fight.

U.S. President George W. Bush poses with Paul Doran of Rochester, New York, while attending the graduation ceremony for the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, June 2, 2004. [Reuters]

Bush's Democratic rival, John Kerry, contends Bush has abandoned alliances and undermined America's leadership role in the world. That, he contends, has bred instability, especially in the Middle East.

Kerry, who was traveling in Florida, said Wednesday that in addition to winning passage of a U.N. resolution that will recognize the new Iraqi government and urge worldwide support for Baghdad, Bush needs to persuade other countries to help the cause.

"It is essential that he get troop and resource commitments for our mission in Iraq to relieve the burden on our troops, to help achieve the stability ... and internationalize the presence on the ground," Kerry said in response to Bush's speech.

Bush told the Air Force graduates, "The enemies of freedom are opposed by a great and growing alliance" beyond the United States. "The war on terror is civilization's fight. And, as in the struggles of the last century, civilized nations are waging this fight together."

While Bush painted a more stable future for the Middle East, he said only a few words about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which Arabs contend is at the heart of the problem.

Bush said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to remove all settlements from Gaza and several from the West Bank is a "courageous step" that offers a new opportunity to build a Palestinian state. He had stronger words for Palestinians, saying that America will only work with reform-minded Palestinian leaders dedicated to fighting violence.

The speech was one in a series the president is delivering about the war on terrorism and Iraq with an eye toward the transfer of political power in Baghdad on June 30.

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