THE US: President Bush has urged Europe to remain united in the war against global terrorism and the threat posed by "an aggressive force that glorifies death".
In a speech to the German parliament yesterday, Mr Bush said the threat was not restricted to the US, and military, financial and diplomatic pressure must be applied to confront the threat.
"We face new and grave threats to liberty, to the safety of our people and to civilisation itself . . . from those who despise human freedom and who will attack it on every continent," he said.
Mr Bush said the US had no plans to attack Iraq, but was committed to using "all means at our disposal" to fight Saddam Hussein. He acknowledged European concerns about US unilateralism in the war on terrorism and its approach to Iraq, saying he would consult Germany before any strike.
"There can be no lasting security in a world at the mercy of terrorists in my nation or any other nation. We need each other in the fight against terrorism. We will exert a unified diplomatic pressure and we will share intelligence."
Mr Bush flew to Moscow yesterday and will meet his Russian counterpart, Mr Vladmir Putin, tomorrow to sign an agreement reducing by two-thirds their arsenals of nuclear weapons.
"This agreement recognises that Russia and the west are no longer enemies," he said. He would discuss Russian assistance to the construction of a nuclear power station in Iran, saying it would propagate nuclear weapons.
"If you arm Iran you are liable to have the weapons pointed at you," he said. He brushed aside European criticisms of current US policies, such as steel tariffs and farm subsidies."The magnitude of our shared responsibility makes our disagreements seem so small," he said. "Those who exaggerate the differences play a dangerous game and hold a shallow view of our relationship."
Mr Bush was interrupted briefly when three members of the reformed communist Party of Democratic Socialism unfurled a banner reading: "Mr Bush, Mr Schröder, stop your wars". The banner was quickly removed by staff and the three left the parliamentary chamber.
The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, welcomed Mr Bush's clarification of the US position on Iraq and praised the president's "historic comments" on Russia. The German Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, praised Mr Bush's "completely new tone".
"If that is transferred to politics than that was really a historic speech," he said.
When Mr Bush meets President Jacques Chirac in Paris on Sunday, Mr Chirac is likely to tell him that Paris would oppose US military action against Iraq.
Before he left Washington on his European tour, Mr Bush gave an interview to four newspapers, including Le Monde, in which he was asked whether Iraq was "contained". "The word 'contain' doesn't work if someone's got the capacity to deliver a weapon of mass destruction," Mr Bush said.
He feared "the potential threat that could come if this terrorist organisation that we're hunting down (al-Qaeda) teams up with (Iraq)".
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