LONDON — President Bush on Wednesday presented a spirited defense of the war in Iraq, telling European critics on the first official day of a state visit to Britain that the use of force was justified as a last resort to protect freedom.
"The people have given us the duty to defend them, and that duty sometimes requires the violent restraint of violent men," Bush said in his first major foreign policy address on European soil since the United States launched military operations in Iraq last spring. "In some cases, the measured use of force is all that protects us from a chaotic world ruled by force."
Speaking to a select audience of policymakers and academics in one of the few European nations that has steadfastly supported the war effort, Bush criticized those who have opposed his administration’s policy of pre-emptive strikes against emerging threats.
"The hope that danger has passed is comforting, is understandable and it is false," he said, adding the recent synagogue bombings in Istanbul to a recitation of terrorist attacks. "The danger only increases with denial."
In a swipe at countries such as France, Germany and Russia, which resisted U.S. and British efforts to win U.N. approval for the invasion, Bush warned that the United Nations was "solemnly choosing its own irrelevance and inviting the fate of the League of Nations. It’s not enough to meet the dangers of the world with resolutions; we must meet those dangers with resolve."
For the president, it was a day of pomp, circumstance and a minimum of public exposure. It began with a ceremonial welcome from the royal family at Buckingham Palace and ended with a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Several hundred anti-war demonstrators took to the streets to protest the visit. Most were peaceful, although police announced about three dozen arrests. Thousands more protesters are expected today, which is also when Bush is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush’s staunchest supporter in both the war on terrorism and the Iraq campaign.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
