WASHINGTON (AFP) – President George W. Bush told a wary global audience Monday that the US economy was not headed for recession and that US forces in Iraq will face “tough fighting” in 2008 — but are winning the war.
The unpopular president, in excerpts of what the White House billed as his final State of the Union speech, also vowed to “confront” Iran if necessary to protect US soldiers or Washington’s vital interests in the Gulf.
With not quite 12 months before his term ends, and fewer before the November elections to decide his successor, Bush sought to soothe deep US voter concerns about the battered US economy and the nearly five-year-old Iraq war.
“Our economy is undergoing a period of uncertainty. And at kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future. In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic growth,” he said. Earlier, Bush told ABC News Radio: “I don’t think there will be a recession and one way to make sure there is not a recession is for Congress to pass a robust stimulus package as quickly as possible.” A recent wave of public opinion polls has found that worries about the economy have overtaken concerns about the conflict in Iraq among US voters, with health care issues and terrorism well behind.
A January 20-22 survey by the Wall Street Journal found that 64 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of the economy 67 percent disapprove of his handling of Iraq — two issues that will shape the race to succeed him. Democrats hope that deep dissatisfaction with the president’s record on both fronts will help them retain control of the US Congress and reconquer the White House in November.
Leading Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, both senators, were to be in the audience for the 9:00 pm (0200 GMT Tuesday) speech. “If we all do our part, next year, it will be a Democratic president giving the State of the Union,” Clinton said at a campaign rally in Hartford, Connecticut. Bush was to plead for support for his policies and declare that his Iraq strategy promises victory — and a return ticket home, eventually, for the roughly 160,000 US troops there.
“Our objective in the coming year is to sustain and build on the gains we made in 2007, while transitioning to the next phase of our strategy. American troops are shifting from leading operations, to partnering with Iraqi forces, and, eventually, to a protective overwatch mission,” he said.
The US president defended his January 2007 decision to send roughly 30,000 more troops to Iraq in a “surge” that has not yet brought about hoped-for political reconciliation there. “Our enemies in Iraq have been hit hard. They are not yet defeated, and we can still expect tough fighting ahead,” he said.
A senior aide said a progress report in March or April would shape any troop draw-down decision. Bush had promised that the crackdown would quiet sectarian violence that he blamed for thwarting Iraqi national reconciliation and that Iraqi security forces would be in charge of the entire country by November. But 2007 proved the deadliest year for US troops since the 2003 invasion, political progress has been elusive, and Iraqi officials have suggested that it may not be until 2012 that they can assume full control of security.
Amid escalating tensions with Iran, Bush also urged Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment and warned that the United States will “confront those who threaten our troops” and defend its allies and “vital interests in the Persian Gulf.”
Bush also urged Tehran’s leaders to embrace political reforms and “cease your support for terror abroad,” while telling Iran’s populace: “We have no quarrel with you, we respect your traditions and your history, and we look forward to the day when you have your freedom.” Bush was also to call for a stay-the-course approach on Afghanistan, highlight his new Middle East peace push, and press the Congress to approve free trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
“If we fail to pass this (the US-Colombia) agreement, we will embolden the purveyors of false populism in our hemisphere,” he said, in what an aide confirmed was a slap at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a Bush nemesis. In an echo of his second inaugural speech, Bush was to highlight the spread of democracy and was expected to scold a handful of countries — including Belarus, Cuba, Myanmar, and Zimbabwe — as outposts of repression, aides said.