The Hindu : International : Bush begins on a "combative" note

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Saturday, Jan 22, 2005

International

International

Bush begins on a "combative" note

By Julian Borger

WASHINGTON, JAN. 21. George Bush yesterday began his second presidential term with a call to American action abroad, committing the United States to the spread of global democracy and ``ending tyranny in our world.''

In arguably the most combative inauguration speech for half a century, Mr. Bush made clear that the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts had not diminished his determination to take the ``war on terror'' to America's enemies. He saw them as only part of a much broader mission, which he phrased in almost messianic terms.

``By our efforts, we have lit ... a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world,'' Mr Bush said on the steps of the Capitol building.

Religious language

The speech, much of it couched in religious language, was addressed first to the rest of the world and only secondly to the American people. In it, Mr. Bush portrayed a planet consumed by the struggle between liberty and tyranny, in which the U.S. would not stand aside.

``So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world,'' he said.

The confrontations to come would not necessarily be ``the task of arms,'' he insisted, but at a time of rising speculation over his second-term plans for Iran, the newly re-elected President did not exclude the possibility of further battles.

He pledged: ``We will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary.''

To the American people, concerned at the U.S. death toll in Iraq, he argued that the only way to defend the country was to promote democracy overseas and thus uproot the source of threats to the homeland.

``History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction set by liberty and the author of liberty,'' he said. The deliberate use of language, familiar to evangelical Christians, won more cheers from the crowd than any other phrase in the speech.

Radical address

With this radical address, Mr. Bush nailed his colours once and for all to the ``neoconservative'' mast, committing himself to an activist foreign policy. He went out of his way to reject the more traditional ``realist'' Republican philosophy associated with his father, which argues that democracy cannot be exported to regions like the Middle East (West Asia) and that U.S. foreign policy should be guided by narrowly defined national self-interest.

In its call for selfless service by young Americans, the speech was reminiscent of John Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address, in which he pledged Americans ``shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.''

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