WASHINGTON – In the first major foreign policy review since 2002, President Bush said Thursday that Iran may pose the greatest challenge to the United States. He criticized China and Russia for political repression and underscored his administration’s strike-first policy against terrorists and other enemies.
“Our preference is to act through diplomacy in conjunction with friends and allies. That is our preference. That is our practice,” Stephen Hadley, the president’s national security adviser, said about the pre-emption doctrine, which he insists is not aimed at Iran.
“It simply says that one cannot let dangers grow to the point of imminent threat to the United States without taking action, and if other measures fail, obviously we retain the right to use force,” Hadley said.
The 49-page report also says North Korea poses a serious nuclear proliferation challenge; expresses dismay at rollbacks in democratic reform in Russia; brands Syria a tyranny that harbors terrorists and sponsors terrorist activity; and warns China against denying personal and political freedoms.
“China’s leaders must realize, however, that they cannot stay on this peaceful path while holding on to old ways of thinking and acting that exacerbate concerns throughout the region and the world,” Bush wrote.
The report accuses Iran of meddling in Iraq and equipping the insurgency, which is threatening a fragile democracy in Baghdad. The report was released as U.S. and Iraqi forces launched the largest air assault mission against insurgents and terrorists in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in April 2003.
The administration is working to persuade Russia and China to support a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Iran end its uranium enrichment program.
“This diplomatic effort must succeed if confrontation is to be avoided,” Bush said. He did not elaborate on what would happen if international negotiations with Iran were to fail.
Hadley said the international effort must speak with one voice for diplomacy to succeed in getting Iran to curb this step in nuclear weapons development.
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