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Bush Faces Global Critics at U.N. This Week
Sun Sep 19, 2004 01:30 PM ET

By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two years after he made a case against Iraq over unconventional weapons that were never found, President Bush faces global critics at the United Nations this week to argue it is essential that war-ravaged Iraq become a stable democracy.

Bush makes his annual trek to New York to speak to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. His remarks are likely to be seen in an election-year context, at a time of rising casualties in Iraq, fears of civil war and questions about whether national elections can be held in January as scheduled.

Bush's speech will be a mixture of talking up his hopes for success in Iraq and Afghanistan -- where a struggle is taking place to hold elections Oct. 9 -- and emphasizing U.S. efforts to assist the global fight against AIDS, hunger, illiteracy and poverty.

"All the world can be certain: America and our allies will keep our commitments to the Afghan and Iraqi people. Our long-term security -- the safety of our children and grandchildren -- will be served when the broader Middle East is home to stable, democratic governments that fight terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address on Saturday.

Many world leaders who opposed Bush on Iraq will be listening carefully to what he says about the situation there. He will be able to point to Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as an example of a new generation of Iraqi leadership. He will meet Allawi at the White House on Thursday.

"He's a tough guy," Bush said at a campaign event on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. "He believes that Iraq should be free and he cares about the hopes and aspirations of the Iraqi people."

But there are likely to be some skeptics in the U.N. audience. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week he believes the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a violation of international law.

It was two years ago at the U.N. General Assembly that Bush challenged world leaders to back up sanctions against Iraq with the threat of severe consequences for Saddam Hussein if he did not disarm, and the Security Council responded with a unanimous vote.

But months later, after U.N. weapons inspectors failed to find weapons of mass destruction, the United Nations refused to back Bush's call for war, and Bush launched the conflict with support from 35 nations. That coalition is now dwindling even as an Iraqi insurgency increases attacks.

A key argument Bush is making on the campaign trail is that Iraq is better off without Saddam in power. The CIA has warned of the possibility that Iraq could descend into civil war.

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has been stepping up his attacks on Bush over the war. He accused Bush last week of "living in a fantasy world of spin" and failing to tell the truth about chaos and violence in Iraq.

While in New York, Bush will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who survived an assassination attempt last week, and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, an ally in the effort to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda threat along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

"While in New York, Bush will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who survived an assassination attempt last week, and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, an ally in the effort to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda threat along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border."

It would be a coup for AQ to pull something off in NYC this week.

Major world players are in town.

Heads up!