President Bush and first lady Laura Bush leave the White House, Monday, Nov. 14, 2005, for an eight-day trip to Asia to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Posted on 11/14/2005 9:24:42 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush is firing a parting shot at Iraq war critics as he heads to Asia with hopes of improving his image on the world stage.
Bush was stopping in Alaska and speaking to troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base during a refueling stop for Air Force One on the first leg of an eight-day journey to Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia.
He was expected to defend himself against Democrats' criticism that he manipulated intelligence and misled the American people about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as he sought grounds to go to war against Saddam Hussein in 2003. In a speech on Friday, Bush said his critics were "deeply irresponsible" and were making "false charges.
Iraq and a host of other problems, from the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina to the indictment of a senior White House official in a CIA leak investigation, have taken a heavy toll on the president. Nearing the end of his fifth year in office, Bush has the lowest approval rating of his presidency and a majority of Americans say Bush is not honest and they disapprove of his handling of foreign policy and the war on terrorism.
Bush is expected to get a warmer welcome in Asia than he did earlier this month in Argentina at the Summit of the Americas, where Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led a protest against U.S. policies and Bush failed to gain support from the 34 nations attending for a hemisphere-wide free trade zone.
Japan, the first stop on Bush's trip, and Mongolia, the last, are likely to give him the most enthusiastic response, while China and South Korea probably will be cooler but respectful.
In South Korea, Bush also will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Conference summit in Busan, where 21 member states are expected to agree to support global free-trade talks. The summit also is expected to agree to put early-warning and information-sharing systems in place in case of bird flu outbreaks.
White House officials lowered expectations for the trip. "He's not looking for any specific deliverables or specific outcomes," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said. The most important objective is to underscore U.S. interest and influence in Asia in the face of China's growing economic and military might.
"It is good for the president to show up in Asia and say, `We care about Asia,' because that is in doubt in the region," said Ed Lincoln, senior fellow in Asia and Economic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
At Bush's first stop, in Kyoto, Japan, the president will deliver what aides bill as the speech of the trip on the power of democracy, not only to better individual lives but contribute to the long-term prosperity of nations.
The remarks — aimed at China — will hold up such nations as Japan, Australia and South Korea as models because of their strong democratic traditions and willingness to help establish democracy in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.
"There's going to be a lot of change in Chinese society and these are things that will help the Chinese move forward," Mike Green, senior director for Asia at the White House's National Security Council, said in describing the message.
Bush also is expected to use the trip to press China to revalue its currency, reduce its vast trade surplus with the United States and curb the piracy of American movies, software and other copyright material.
China's leadership in six-party talks with North Korea aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions also will be a key topic when Bush meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Since Japan and South Korea are also U.S. partners in those negotiations, Bush will also be working the issue when he sits down with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Kyoto and spends a day with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun ahead of the APEC meetings.
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush leave the White House, Monday, Nov. 14, 2005, for an eight-day trip to Asia to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
A South Korean artist (R) puts the final touches on a sand sculpture, showing a pair of Korean traditional guardian poles and a kite (L) to promote Korean traditional culture during the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum at a beach in Pusan, about 420km (262 miles) southeast of Seoul November 13, 2005. Thousands of South Koreans joined a labour union-organised protest on the streets of the capital on Sunday against the coming summit of Pacific Rim leaders including U.S. President George W. Bush. EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO ARCHIVE NO RESALE REUTERS/APEC Host Photographer (Yonhap)/Handout
A South Korean artist (R) puts the final touches on a sand sculpture, showing a pair of Korean traditional guardian poles and a kite (L) to promote Korean traditional culture during the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum at a beach in Pusan, about 420km (262 miles) southeast of Seoul November 13, 2005. Thousands of South Koreans joined a labour union-organised protest on the streets of the capital on Sunday against the coming summit of Pacific Rim leaders including U.S. President George W. Bush. EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO ARCHIVE NO RESALE REUTERS/APEC Host Photographer (Yonhap)/Handout
"He was expected to defend himself against Democrats' criticism that he manipulated intelligence and misled the American people about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as he sought grounds to go to war against Saddam Hussein in 2003. In a speech on Friday, Bush said his critics were "deeply irresponsible" and were making "false charges.
Iraq and a host of other problems, from the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina to the indictment of a senior White House official in a CIA leak investigation, have taken a heavy toll on the president. Nearing the end of his fifth year in office, Bush has the lowest approval rating of his presidency and a majority of Americans say Bush is not honest and they disapprove of his handling of foreign policy and the war on terrorism.
Bush is expected to get a warmer welcome in Asia than he did earlier this month in Argentina at the Summit of the Americas, where Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led a protest against U.S. policies and Bush failed to gain support from the 34 nations attending for a hemisphere-wide free trade zone."
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This story is written by a "journalist?" These look like DNC talking points.
Incredible.
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Never happened, and if there was any bungling it was by Nagin and Blanco. The feds relocated an entire city in days. A city that was only part of a devastated region.
If we did, you would think our side would keep reminding the other and it's OLD MEDIA teammates?
Terence Hunt is one of AP's senior-most liars.
I only wish it had been flechettes.
Yes we did, and we removed it. Tons of enriched uranium. I think we already knew it was there, it was under the IEA control, which just means that we knew where it was so when Saddam needed it to finish his bombs we would KNOW he was finishing his bombs, like that would do us any good.
And now he'll be hammering away for the full year before the 2006 mid-term elections. Strategy courtesy of Karl Rove.
Notice how there was no mention of what those 'parting shots' might be. Just a rehash of the usual talking points. Wouldn't want to question those democrats now would we?
Given what the debate has been lately, you apparently have to believe that either:
the Bush administration sent thousands of US soldiers to die or be maimed based on lies, greed, ego, whatever; or
Bush's opponents are willing to weaken the US war effort and aid our enemies, making those soldiers' jobs much harder, for political gain.
Guess which one logic and the facts force me to believe.
Criticizing the decision to go to war and the conduct of the war are not the same as saying we went to war on a deliberate falsehood.
Politically, the stakes are high. There is no middle ground.
The Democrats are not fit to govern. To say the least.
Wasn't he the one that said the crowd booed when President Bush said Clinton was having double bypass surgery last year? And it turned out it wasn't booing, but rather sympathy and the new media had to force Hunt to retract the story.
Oops, the writer let a little editorial opinion creep into the story. Gee, that never happens.
Ask the leftists who said "Bush Lied", why didn't he also place some WMD around to find so that he could "prove" he was right to go to war?
"Oh yeah," they'll say, "That's because Bush was too dumb to think of that."
Yet he's smart enough to lie his way into, and get most of the Senate to agree to go to war. The British too, and the American press, Clinton BEFORE Dubya became president, the House Democrats, the CIA, DIA, NSA, and State Department, and the Australians, Poles, and Ukrainians. All were completely duped by the dummy.
Leftists really do live in an alternative world.
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