International   

We must stay on the offensive: Bush

WEST POINT (New York): U.S. President George W. Bush on Tuesday defended his doctrine of military intervention to shut down potential national security threats before they mature, and he issued a pointed message to Pakistan that “we will do what is necessary to protect U.S. troops and the American people.”

Mr. Bush delivered the remarks during a speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he first enunciated the “Bush doctrine” of preventive attack in 2002. As he prepares to relinquish power, that doctrine seems likely to recede, although President-elect Barack Obama has also warned he would take whatever steps are necessary to hunt down terrorists. And the dangers that Mr. Bush spoke of, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will continue to confront Mr. Obama and his national security team, which includes Mr. Bush’s current Defence Secretary and top military commanders.

In the speech on Tuesday, Mr. Bush pointed to “the terrible attack in Mumbai” last month as a demonstration that terrorists still posed serious challenges, and he said that his successors should continue his military and diplomatic strategies to defeat them. “In the years ahead, our nation must continue developing the capabilities to take the fight to our enemies across the world. We must stay on the offensive,” he said.

Mr. Bush singled out Pakistan for both praise and criticism. He said the Pakistani government and people were working to defeat terrorism “because they have been victims of terror themselves.” But he also pointed to the ungoverned tribal areas along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, where fighters of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have found a home, as a “pronounced” problem, saying that while the U.S. supported Pakistan’s efforts to assert control over those regions, it would also take action if necessary. Mr. Bush’s comments came in the context of several recent flare-ups involving U.S. military and intelligence action in Pakistan, and just after a brazen attack by militants there against the supply lines for allied forces in Afghanistan. In recent months, a number of U.S. missile attacks in the tribal areas, including some that were said to have killed civilians, as well as at least one foray by American commandos, have inflamed tensions with Pakistan. While Washington has sought to ease these differences, Mr. Bush’s comments seemed to defend just that type of action.

During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama asserted repeatedly he would be willing to launch an attack in Pakistan if the U.S. had information about terrorists’ whereabouts and Pakistan refused to act. Most of his remarks covered familiar territory, starting with how the 9/11 attacks prompted an overhaul of national security policies at home and abroad, increased surveillance of communications and financial transfers. — New York Times News Service

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Illinois Governor indulged in “corruption spree”
We must stay on the offensive: Bush
Reconstruction work in liberated areas: Colombo
Nearly 1 billion people going hungry: U.N.
Pressure LTTE to free citizens in war zone: TULF
British troops to leave Iraq by June 2009
Swraj Paul becomes Lords’ Deputy Speaker
Flutter over release of JI activists in Malaysia
Israel mourns Mumbai attack victims

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu