Unrepentant Bush tells UN of his victories

GEORGE BUSH stood unrepentant and unbowed before the 192 member states of the United Nations general assembly to deliver a valedictory address devoted almost entirely to terrorism, which he described as an evil that must be defeated.

In his eighth and final address to a largely silent hall of world leaders on Tuesday, the US President sounded a note that has changed remarkably little since he first spoke to the general assembly in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

He said the global movement of extremists remained a challenge as serious as any since the foundation of the UN in 1945: "Like slavery and piracy, terrorism has no place in the modern world."

Mr Bush took the opportunity to give an assessment of his two terms in power that contained no regrets and no apology.

Afghanistan and Iraq had been transformed, he said, "from regimes that actively sponsor terror to democracies that fight terror". Libya had renounced its backing of extremists and dropped its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia were now engaged in the struggle to root out extremism.

Democracy, too, had spread around the world under his watch. "From the voting booths of Afghanistan, Iraq and Liberia, to the orange revolution in Ukraine, the rose revolution in Georgia, the cedar revolution in Lebanon and the tulip revolution in Kyrgyzstan, we have seen people consistently make the courageous decision to demand their liberty. Whenever or wherever people are given the choice, they chose freedom."

In the seven years since Mr Bush launched the so-called war on terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks, his Administration has become among the most controversial in US history. It has been widely criticised on the world stage for flouting international law, and for ineffective handling of the aftermaths of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Bush's speech comes at a time when many of his Administration's objectives appear to be going in reverse. The Taliban are on the rise again in Afghanistan, violence is rife in Pakistan, the Middle East peace initiative has stalled and attempts to stop Iran and North Korea from developing a nuclear capacity are wavering.

But the only hint at fallibility in Mr Bush's 21-minute speech came with the concession that "we have witnessed successes and setbacks" and a reference to the fight in Iraq as having been "difficult".

The decision to go ahead with the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in the absence of approval from the UN, which Mr Bush derided as being close to an irrelevance, constituted one of the most serious blows to the authority of the world body since its foundation.

On Tuesday morning, Mr Bush cited the UN's extraordinary "potential" to solve world problems but said it must be more transparent and accountable.

The President also spoke to the delegations seated in front of him from Russia, which he said had violated the UN charter by sending troops into Georgia. "We must stand united in our support of the people of Georgia. Young democracies around the world are watching to see how we respond to this test."

Later it emerged Russia had pulled out of a meeting on the sidelines of the UN assembly to discuss Iran's nuclear program. Russia's move, in effect, scuttled the meeting that was to debate new sanctions on Iran.

In his speech, Mr Bush singled out North Korea and Iran for their nuclear programs, calling on the UN to impose stiffened sanctions against both. He also singled out Iran and Syria for continuing to sponsor terrorism.source