TALK ABOUT THE WAR ON TERRORISM: More Impact of Bush Win

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More Impact of Bush Win

Posted by Once a soldier, on 11/3/2004, 17:39:24
216.214.203.52

World leaders hail Bush's re-election, call for healing
of global divisions over Iraq
***
In Brussels, the European Union's executive arm extended "warm
congratulations" to Bush on his re-election and pledged Europe's
renewed commitment to the transatlantic link.
EU nations were deeply split over Washington's unilateralist
policies, notably on Iraq, in Bush's first term in office, but are now
coming together to work for the shattered country's reconstruction.
"The United States and the European Union are linked by strong
cultural, economic and political ties, and by our shared values. This
makes us each other's natural and indispensable partners," said
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who holds the EU's
rotating presidency.
"Together, Europe and the United States face many critical
challenges in the years ahead. As in the past, our best hope for
success lies in common action," EU foreign affairs chief Javier
Solana said in a statement.
Congratulatory messages also poured in from UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan and leaders from Austria, Belgium, Canada,
France, Germany, Ireland, Poland and South Africa among others.
Annan said through his spokesman that he was "committed to
continuing to work with President Bush and his administration on
the whole range of issues facing the United Nations and the world."
Relations between Annan and Bush have been less than easy at
times, particularly since the Iraq war, which Annan described as
illegal, as it was waged without a UN green light.
French President Jacques Chirac, a strong opponent of the US-led
war in Iraq, expressed hope that Bush's second term "will provide
an opportunity to reinforce France-American friendship" and the
transatlantic partnership.
"On behalf of France, and on my personal behalf, I would like to
express to you my most sincere congratulations for your re-election
to the presidency of the United States of America," Chirac wrote in
a letter to Bush. "I hope that your second term will provide an
opportunity to reinforce the Franco-American friendship."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who also clashed with
Bush over Iraq, voiced hope that his country would continue its
"good cooperation" with the United States.
Many countries remain worried about Bush's foreign policy and its
implications for the Middle East, if he is re-elected, especially
given fears of international terrorism.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said from Bonn that he hoped
the new US government "would help to bring peace to the Middle
East".
Speaking before Bush's re-election was confirmed, Iraqi Prime
Minister Iyad Allawi said he hoped nothing would change in the role
the US-led coalition plays in Iraq whoever won the election.
"Whoever is the winner will be our friend. The United States has
liberated us from a dictator and a very long period of war and
agony," Allawi told the Italian daily La Repubblica ahead of a visit
to Italy Thursday.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is a
wary neighbor of Iraq, expressed hope that the Bush re-election
would contribute to world peace.
In Madrid, Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez
Zapatero said his government "wishes to contribute to effective
and constructive cooperation with the Bush government."
Zapatero, who took office last April, reversed his conservative
predecessor Jose Maria Aznar's policy of strong support for the
US intervention in Iraq and withdrew the troops Aznar had sent to
Iraq in August last year.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco, a strong US ally, hailed Bush's
victory, pledging to work with him to enhance the "remarkable
quality of the strategic partnership that unites our two countries"
while also expressing hope for "a new international order that is
safer, more balanced, more fair and more human", the Map news
agency reported.
In Israel, a top foreign policy adviser said: "Israel and the free world
has every reason to rejoice over this result."
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in hospital outside Paris, said he
hoped Bush's re-election would help jumpstart the Middle East
peace process, one of his aides told AFP.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who hosted an EU-US summit
during Ireland's presidency of the EU earlier this year, said it was
important to maintain a strong transatlantic relationship and to
"work together across the range of issues that face the
international community at this time".
"The Americans have made a clear choice," Portuguese Foreign
Minister Antonio Monteiro told national news agency Lusa. "For
Portugal there is no change. We would work with any US
administration although with this one we have come to establish a
very close working relationship."
In Italy, President Carlo Ciampi reaffirmed the need for renewing
"the spirit of transatlantic solidarity " because "terrorism is far from
weakened."
"Italy is at the side of the United States in ...the struggle against the
common enemy, in the determination to work together for the
security of our nations and the stability of world ordert," he said in
his message to Bush.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described a Bush win as a
victory over terror.
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said Wednesday he would
be telephoning Bush to congratulate him but would also raise some
bilateral problems.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with his Liberal Party
members of parliament, Martin said he would specifically be
raising US restrictions on the imports of Canadian softwood
lumber and beef.
He added that he would also bring up multilateral issues, especially
"the need for a new multilateralism" -- an apparent reference to
Bush's tendency in his first term to act alone, without securing
United Nations support.
South African President Thabo Mbeki said through a spokesman
that he was "looking forward to continuing to work with President
Bush to deal with the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment
and to continue to co-operate on other bilateral issues."
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