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LONDON (Dow Jones)--President George W. Bush will tell the British in particular and Europeans in general on Wednesday that democracy is worth defending, and there are times when military action is needed to do so, a senior administration official said Tuesday. "History has shown that there are times when countries must use force to defend the peace and to defend values," the official said. Bush arrived in the U.K. Tuesday evening for the start of a four-day state visit, and will deliver his speech Wednesday at Whitehall around midday. The senior official said the president will say in his speech...

President Bush has landed at London Heathrow to begin his controversial state visit. His arrival with Lady Bush on Air Force One triggered the start of the biggest security operation ever mounted in Britain for a visiting head of state. The pair were being met by the Prince of Wales before a flight to Buckingham Palace in the presidential helicopter, Marine One, where they will be greeted privately by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. The number of police officers in the capital has been trebled for the duration of Mr Bush's visit. Half of all London police - 14,000...

Protests begin but majority backs Bush visit as support for war surges See the ICM poll in full (pdf) Alan Travis and David Gow Tuesday November 18, 2003 The Guardian A majority of Labour voters welcome President George Bush's state visit to Britain which starts today, according to November's Guardian/ICM opinion poll.The survey shows that public opinion in Britain is overwhelmingly pro-American with 62% of voters believing that the US is "generally speaking a force for good, not evil, in the world". It explodes the conventional political wisdom at Westminster that Mr Bush's visit will prove damaging to Tony Blair....

Protests begin but majority backs Bush visit as support for war surges See the ICM poll in full (pdf) Alan Travis and David Gow Tuesday November 18, 2003 The Guardian A majority of Labour voters welcome President George Bush's state visit to Britain which starts today, according to November's Guardian/ICM opinion poll. The survey shows that public opinion in Britain is overwhelmingly pro-American with 62% of voters believing that the US is "generally speaking a force for good, not evil, in the world". It explodes the conventional political wisdom at Westminster that Mr Bush's visit will prove damaging to Tony...

Robin Cook, the former foreign secretary, says he is baffled by the Government's decision to offer the President of the United States a full state visit to London. What puzzles him, apparently, is that George W Bush has been accorded the honour, while his predecessor, Bill Clinton, was denied it. Let us try to enlighten him. The first thing Mr Cook must attempt to understand is that there is nothing personal about state visits. When Emperor Hirohito was invited to share the Queen's carriage in 1971, this was a gesture of friendship to the people of Japan, whose head of...

On the eve of George Bush’s state visit, Prime Minister Tony Blair today said he stood by the decision to invite the US President to Britain, despite mounting opposition from anti-war campaigners. Mr Blair said Britain was right to “stand firm” beside the United States in the fight against terrorism and insisted troops had not died in vain in Iraq. His comments, at the CBI annual conference in Birmingham, came as Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy gave his backing to planned protests, which are expected to bring tens of thousands of people onto the streets of London on Thursday. As...

8:40pm (UK) Half of Labour Voters 'Back Bush Visit' By Andrew Woodcock, Political Correspondent, PA News More than half of Labour supporters back US President George Bush?s state visit to Britain, according to a survey released today. They were among an overall 43% of voters who told pollsters ICM they welcomed the visit ? some 7% more than the 36% who said they would prefer the President to stay away. Twelve per cent were undecided. The survey, to be published in The Guardian tomorrow as Mr Bush flies to the UK, contradicted the widely-held assumption that the visit will damage...

President Bush meets Palace Protocol: Don’t touch the queen or kiss her on the cheek, as you did with Queen Sofia of Spain a couple of years ago. Only handshakes are permitted. Don’t bow. Heads of state do not bow to the queen, and Americans do not bow, period. Laura need not curtsy unless she wants to do so. LONDON - The first time George W. Bush met Queen Elizabeth, he told her his cowboy boots were embroidered with "God save the queen." Bush - who was attending a 1991 state dinner for the queen and her husband, Prince...

LONDON — Hand-wringing diplomats on both sides of the Atlantic are saying that "it seemed like such a good idea at the time." They are having second thoughts about this week's full-fledged state visit of a U.S. president to the United Kingdom. The invitation was made two years ago by Prime Minister Tony Blair, when America was popular as a Sept. 11 victim, but the visit will begin at a time when both Blair and President Bush are being reviled in Europe for joining forces to overthrow a dangerous tyrant. Because finishing that job is costing more in blood and...

President Bush's controversial trip to the UK is the first state visit by a US president. BBC News Online explains.What is the significance of a state visit? A state visit is different from a normal visit in that it is organised by Buckingham Palace and involves a high level of pageantry. This includes a ceremonial arrival, a full state banquet and a private lunch involving the Queen and her household and the president and his entourage. Although the palace issues the invitation, it is done in consultation with Downing Street and the Foreign Office.

BUSH'S STATE VISIT TO UK PRESIDENT George W Bush is to make a full state visit to Britain after weeks of top-secret talks, The People can reveal. But the American leader's trip is certain to infuriate anti-war protesters - and potentially inflict further damage on Tony Blair's popularity. Anger over the invasion of Iraq is thought to be behind Labour's shock defeat in last week's Brent East by-election and the PM is already seen by many as Mr Bush's pet poodle. News of the four-day visit in November will be formally announced on Tuesday by Buckingham Palace - where Mr...