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01/21/2005:

"Smiles for the family, a fiery warning for the world"

George Bush began his second presidential term yesterday with a call to American action abroad, committing the US to the spread of global democracy and "ending tyranny in our world".

In arguably the most combative inauguration speech for 50 years, Mr Bush made clear that the Afghan and Iraqi wars had not diminished his determination to take the counter-terrorism campaign to America's enemies. He depicted those conflicts as part of a much broader mission, which he phrased in almost messianic terms.

"By our efforts, we have lit ... a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world," Mr Bush said on the steps of the Capitol, tens of thousands listening rapt on Washington's snow-covered National Mall and along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The speech, steeped in religious language, was addressed first to the world and only secondly to the American people. Mr Bush portrayed a planet consumed by the struggle between liberty and tyranny in which the US would not stand aside.

"So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world," he said.

The confrontations to come would not necessarily be "the task of arms", Mr Bush said, but at a time of rising speculation over his second-term plans for Iran, the president did not exclude the possibility of further battles. He pledged: "We will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary." To the American people, concerned at the US death toll in Iraq, he argued that the only way to defend the country was to promote democracy overseas and thus uproot the source of threats to the homeland.
Full Article: guardian.co.uk

Bush inauguration: Pomp and circumstance
guardian.co.uk
The band played Hail to the Chief. A 21-gun salute sounded. Then, protected by a bulletproof shield, President George Bush repeated his message to the enemies of democracy.

"The rulers of outlaw regimes can know that we still believe as Abraham Lincoln did, 'Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it'," Mr Bush said. Republican Washington roared its approval. But, in Iraq, where the "outlaw regime" of Saddam Hussein experienced the righteous wrath of President Bush, there was barely time to listen to such noble sentiment.

A couple of hours before President Bush spoke, British soldiers close to Basra were coping with the aftermath of the first suicide attack on their forces in the region. The explosion took place at the Shaibah logistics base, four miles from the southern Shia city, which had previously remained relatively quiet while the Sunni insurgency rages elsewhere in the country. Several British soldiers and Iraqi civilians were injured. The scandal of "Britain's Abu Ghraib" has generated its first reprisal. A statement from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the al-Qa'ida Organisation of Holy War in Iraq, claimed the attack as a "response to the harm inflicted by British occupation forces on our brothers in prison".

The attacks are multiplying and spreading. Insurgents shelled a hospital in Mosul. Five fighters were killed inside a mosque and nine were arrested. Three Iraqi army soldiers were killed by a bomb in Samarra. Two fighters died in Ramadi.

With each suicide bomb and mortar attack, the chances of occupied Iraq enjoying a democratic election on 30 January grow slimmer. The elected president of the Iraqi constitutional assembly, whoever he is, will need more than a bulletproof shield to keep the insurgents at bay.

BRITS MOCK BUSH INAUGURATION
drudgereport.com
Editors of major London newspapers wasted no time mocking President Bush's inauguration address.

Assorted splash headlines will greet readers on Friday morning:

"BUSH: HAVE I GOT NUKES FOR YOU, George Bush pledged all-out global war on terrorists and tyrants," headlines the STAR.

"POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE, The band played Hail to the Chief. A 21-gun salute sounded. Then, protected by a bullet-proof shield, President George Bush repeated his message to the enemies of democracy," screams the INDEPENDENT.

The TELEGRAPH slapped: "DEFIANT BUSH DOESN'T MENTION THE WAR, President George W Bush began his second term in unapologetic style yesterday, pledging to maintain his muscular foreign policy and spread freedom "to the darkest corners of the world."

The TIMES rips: "HIS SECOND-TERM MISSION: TO END TYRANNY ON EARTH, Four years ago he was the Accidental President, scion of a ruling family propelled into the highest office more by genetics and duty than by political zeal and ideological mission."

The GUARDIAN: "SMILES FOR THE FAMILY, A FIERY WARNING FOR THE WORLD."

Well, thing is, there is so very much to mock...