THE US: US President George Bush yesterday depicted the US occupation of Iraq as part of a wider American effort to bring democracy to the world, a struggle which he said had reached "a great turning point" similar to the days preceding the fall of the Soviet Union.
In a sweeping foreign policy speech the US President focused largely on the lack of democracy in the Middle East, saying that "60 years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom" there had done nothing to make America safe.
"As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export," said Mr Bush, who pitched his argument largely in terms of America's national security interests.
"With the spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our country and to our friends, it would be reckless to accept the status quo.
"Therefore, the United States has adopted a new policy, a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East.
"This strategy requires the same persistence and energy and idealism we have shown before. And it will yield the same results. As in Europe, as in Asia, as in every region of the world, the advance of freedom leads to peace."
Mr Bush invited comparison of himself with Ronald Reagan, the former President who he largely credited with increasing the number of democracies in the world from 40 to 120 since the 1970s.
"I can assure you more are on the way," he said, pointing out that it was wrong to say Muslim nations were not ready for democracy, just as it was wrong to say Japan and Germany could not embrace democracy after World War II.
Mr Bush chastised Palestinian leaders who blocked Democratic reform but did not mention Israel, the only democracy in the region, which many Arab countries accuse of destabilising the Middle East through its settlement programme in the West Bank.
In his speech, delivered to the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington at a time when domestic criticism of the administration's handling of Iraq policy is mounting, Mr Bush said Teheran "must heed the democratic demands of the Iranian people or lose its last claim to legitimacy." Dictators in Syria and Iraq "promised the restoration of national honour, a return to ancient glories. They've left instead a legacy of torture, oppression, misery and ruin.
"Instead of dwelling on past wrongs and blaming others, governments in the Middle East need to confront real problems and serve the true interests of their nations," Bush said.
He had less harsh words for Arab nations that have helped the US. The "great and proud nation of Egypt has shown the way toward peace in the Middle East and now should show the way toward democracy in the Middle East," he said.
Saudi Arabia could also demonstrate "true leadership" by proceeding with reform.
Iraqi democracy must succeed, the US President said in conclusion, as its failure would embolden terrorists around the world.
"The establishment of a free Iraq at the heart of the Middle East will be a watershed event in the global democratic revolution." Mr Bush later signed an $87.5 billion package approved by Congress for Iraq and Afghanistan which he said showed America has the will "to see this war through to victory."