Saturday, May 03, 2003
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By Sridhar Krishnaswami
"The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September 11, 2001, and still goes on'', Mr. Bush said on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln. "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. The United States and our allies have prevailed. And now, our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country'', he remarked. In his 22-minute address to the nation that was punctuated several times with standing ovation from the men and women of the aircraft carrier and the battle group, the President said, "The tyrant has fallen and Iraq is free''. Hours before this prime time address to the country, Mr. Bush helped pilot a jet onto to the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln that is on its way to its home base in the State of Washington. Closer to San Diego, Mr. Bush boarded the jet but not before the Secret Service insisted that one of its own had to be on board. Mr. Bush had not piloted an aircraft for 30 years since the time he was in the Texas Air National Guard. The event raised eyebrows among the Democrats some of whom took the position that this was a costly photo opportunity. The White House argued that the President does not play politics with national security. Prior to this address, the White House was being very careful on how this exercise was being portrayed, anxious not to give the impression that Mr. Bush is gloating over the "victory'' in Iraq that could send all the wrong signals to a region that is already troubled by the direction of American foreign policy. At the same time, the White House was keen on sending the message that the war in Iraq was also about the war on terrorism; and the President himself stressed that Afghanistan and Iraq are mere "battles'' in a war on terror that will continue. "Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilised world and will be confronted'', Mr. Bush said even while being careful not to drop any names in the process. By the same token, he maintained that anyone in the world "including the Arab world, who works and sacrifices for freedom, has a loyal friend in the United States''. The White House is making the point that this will be the President's last major address on Iraq, unless of course, something major turns up in the future. The President, it is said, will be moving on to issues and matters of domestic priority such as the economy. "Clearly, we are emerging from a phase of intense focus on war in Iraq to a phase where there will be much more focus on the economy, properly so'', argued the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer. "The Iraqi operation is winding down'', he added. Mr. Bush spent the night in a Captain's quarters aboard the aircraft carrier. After breakfast and meeting with top commanders of the battle group, the President is leaving for a defence facility in Mountain View before heading for Crawford, Texas, where he is hosting the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, in his ranch.
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