Bush’s speech met with mixed reaction on national and international fronts

WASHINGTON, January 30 (IslamOnline & News Agency) – While some Americans viewed U.S. President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday, January 29, as a declaration of war on Iraq, France and Russia welcomed his offer to reveal evidence incriminating Iraq.

U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords, an independent from Vermont, remained seated shaking his head late Tuesday as lawmakers around him stood to applaud Bush’s speech.

“As far as I’m concerned he declared war on Iraq tonight,” said Jeffords, who stands politically with opposition Democrats. “He left himself no out other than going to war.”

“It sounds like he’s not listening to anyone. He wants war. He just wants a war.”

Bush on Tuesday vowed to throw “the full force and might” of the U.S. military into any war with Iraq as he sought to rally the nation behind his bid to disarm Saddam Hussein.

“The dictator of Iraq is not disarming,” Bush insisted in his hour-long address to a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives, attended by members of the diplomatic corps and watched on television by millions of Americans across the country.

“To the contrary he is deceiving.” Bush said, warning the tens of thousands of U.S. troops gathering in the Gulf that “some crucial hours may lie ahead”.

Democrats, such as the moderate John Breaux, said “No”, the speech was not a declaration of war, and added they were relieved to hear that Secretary of State Colin Powell was to provide evidence to the U.N. Security Council on February 5 of Iraqi defiance of U.N. resolutions that he disarm.

In the Democrats’ televised response to the speech, Washington state Governor Gary Locke said the United States should work with the United Nations in dealing with Iraq and North Korea.

“We also support the president in working with our allies and the United Nations to eliminate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il of North Korea,” Locke said.

“We support the president in the course he has followed so far: working with Congress, working with the United Nations, insisting on strong and unfettered inspections.”

Bush said in the address he would ask the U.N. Security Council to convene on February 5 to consider Iraq’s continued defiance of the world.

But the Republicans scoffed at the idea as another dilatory tactic since Bush made a very compelling and convincing case on Iraq.

“I think it was close to the final warning to Saddam,” Republican Senator George Allen said, adding there are just so many times “we can turn the other cheek.”

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, who serves on the same committee, felt the president had given a sober inventory of the threats and challenge the United States faced, speaking of the war on terror, North Korea as well as Iraq.

“I thought he hit it just about right,” he told reporters afterwards.

Democratic Senator John McCain, member of the Armed Services Committee, told CNN Bush needed to “provide more information” before putting American lives in harm's way, but that he had “made a good case to the American people.”

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Bush’s announcement that Powell would go before the U.N. Security Council next week “left doors open”.

“But I interpreted it that a vote (on Iraq) was probably not in the making; at the end of the day, the president would decide what’s in the best interest of the safety of the American people and lead a coalition to disarm Saddam Hussein,” Frist added.

Russia, France Welcome Evidence Offer

On the international arena, Russia and France welcomed Bush’s decision to put fresh evidence against Iraq before the U.N. Security Council since the new move would revive efforts to find a diplomatic solution to prevent war.

“The potential for a political and diplomatic resolution is not exhausted and we believe that international inspectors should pursue their work,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov he said.

“We have to do everything possible to avoid a war,” echoed Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, speaking to reporters in Moscow.

Russia has spearheaded opposition to Washington launching a unilateral campaign against Iraq, insisting on a diplomatic settlement and urging that U.N. weapons inspectors be given more time to carry out their work, but on Tuesday Moscow hinted it was losing patience with Baghdad.

The comments were echoed by France, another of the five veto-wielding Security Council members, which has put pressure on Washington to release intelligence it says proves Iraq’s development of a banned weapons program.

“I welcome this American decision. It’s been several weeks that we have been asking all of those who have particular information... to give this information to the (U.N. weapons) inspectors,” said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.

“We will study the U.S. information, we will provide our own information, we will gather all the information together in order to examine the situation from there on,” he said in an interview with RTL radio.

Also, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Washington to go through the United Nations diplomatic channels to resolve the standoff.

“The center of gravity should continue to be the Security Council,” he told reporters.

“We have to put in place all the elements in order to avoid the catastrophe of a war,” he added, warning that Iraq must cooperate with U.N. arms inspectors.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, one of the staunchest supporters of the U.S. campaign to disarm Iraq, also welcomed Bush’s announcement.

“That puts it right at the feet of the Security Council where the matter belongs,” said Howard. “It also reminds us that Iraq has not been playing the game, Iraq has not been cooperating, Iraq has been thumbing its nose at the rest of the world, and the Security Council has got to do its job.

“We all want the United Nations involved, and by going back to the Security Council with this new material the Americans are using the U.N. process.”

In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said: “It was a strong message and clarified the resolute determination of the United States to disarm Iraq.”