Nation & World News
Bush signs aid bill
for Middle East
Some critics lambasted
the plan, saying a clear-cut
policy is necessary for U.S.
aid efforts to be successful
By David Jackson
The Dallas Morning News (KRT)
WASHINGTON — Facing political
fire over the rising costs of war — in
lives and dollars — President Bush
argued Thursday that forging democ
racy in Iraq will build freedom
throughout the Arab world.
"As long as the Middle East re
mains a place where freedom does
not flourish," Bush said, "it will re
main a place of stagnation, resent
ment and violence ready for export."
Bush delivered a major speech two
hours before signing a new $87.5 bil
lion spending plan for Iraq and
Afghanistan, money that critics said
symbolizes a failure of planning by
the Bush administration.
Those critics, including some De
mocratic presidential candidates,
also said Bush undermined hopes for
Middle East stability with his pre
emptive invasion of Iraq, a war that
has triggered terrorist reprisals
against American troops.
"We saw chaos, we lost the trust of
the Iraqi people, and the enemy was
emboldened," said former Gen. Wes
ley Clark during a campaign speech
in Orangeburg, S.C., on Thursday.
Foreign policy analysts said presi
dents have long sought more democ
racy in the Middle East but noted
that Bush did not spell out exactly
how he could be more successful,
even in the test case of Iraq.
"He has committed himself to
staying a very long time — engaged
in nation building — in Iraq," said
James M. Lindsay, co-author of
"America Unbound: The Bush Revo
lution In Foreign Policy."
Rachel Bronson, director of Mid
dle East Studies with the Council on
Foreign Relations, called the speech
"sort of windy — not much there."
"What we really need from the
president is a sense, concretely, of
where we're going," Bronson said.
During the bill-signing ceremony
at the White House, Bush noted that
nearly three-fourths of the budget
plan is for military operations, with
$20 billion earmarked for recon
struction projects in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
"The resources we commit today
will further advance the cause of free
dom," Bush said, "thereby serving
the cause of peace and enhancing the
security of the American people."
The administration also an
nounced plans to send 85,000 new
troops to Iraq early next year to relieve
those completing one-year terms.
In his earlier speech to the Nation
al Endowment For Democracy, a
non-profit group created in 1983 to
strengthen democratic institutions
across the world, Bush said the Mid
dle East "must be a focus of Ameri
can policy for decades to come."
Likening the battle to a Cold War
type struggle between tyranny and
liberty, Bush said a free Iraq would be
"a watershed event in the global
democratic revolution."
Failure in Iraq spells success for ter
rorism across the world, Bush said,
while building democracy will pres
sure neighboring states whose au
thoritarian practices have been toler
ated too long.
"Iraqi democracy will succeed, and
that success will send forth the news
from Damascus to Tehran that free
dom can be the future of every na
tion," Bush said.
Some analysts cited polls taken in
the Middle East reflecting disdain for
the Bush administration. Arabs in the
Middle East and the United States
have criticized the administration for
spending too much time on Iraq and
not nearly enough on the conflict be
tween Israel and the Palestinians.
"Good speeches do not make poli
cy," said James Zogby, president of the
Washington-based Arab American In
stitute. "They (Bush administration
officials) have fired blanks too many
times and are losing credibility."
During his speech, Bush criticized
those who argue that democracy can
not take root in Islamic countries,
saying the same thing was once said
about Japan, Germany, and India.
"Sixty years of Western nations ex
cusing and accommodating the lack
of freedom in the Middle East did
nothing to make us safe," Bush said.
"Because in the long run, stability
cannot be purchased at the expense
of liberty."
Critics said the size of the new
$87.5 billion budget for Iraq and
Afghanistan vividly illustrates how the
Bush administration misled the na
tion about the costs and difficulties of
forcibly removing Saddam Hussein.
(c) 2003, The Dallas Morning News.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
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