Abu Dhabi: US President George W. Bush on Sunday appealed to Gulf states to join him in trying to stop Iran from threatening global security.
"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. So the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it is too late," he said before a large audience at the Emirates Palace.
Click on the links below to listen to President Bush's speech:
Bush speech - part 1 (mp3)
Bush speech - part 2 (mp3)
Bush spoke shortly after he arrived in Abu Dhabi as part of his current regional tour. He is expected in Dubai on Monday.
Following his arrival, he held talks with President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on bilateral relations.
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The meeting, attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, also covered the latest developments in the region, including the Middle East peace process and the situation in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan.
Shaikh Khalifa welcomed Bush and "hailed the growing ties between the two countries in all areas, particularly in political, economic, military and cultural fields," WAM said.
In his speech later, Bush warned that Iran was the main "threat" to regional security, a theme he repeated during his current tour in the region, despite Arab opposition to any military solution to Iran's controversial nuclear project.
"Iran is today the world's leading state sponsor of terror. It sends hundreds of millions of dollars to extremists around the world while its own people face repression and economic hardship at home," he said.
Bush, whose tour began on Wednesday in Israel and the West Bank, also used his speech to urge Israelis and Palestinians to have faith in the renewed peace negotiations launched in Annapolis in November.
He also praised the UAE as a "model of a Muslim state that is tolerant of other faiths", and said women in the UAE have achieved equality and attained "high political positions".
He described the December 2006 elections in the UAE as "historic" and the "first step in a wider reform". He urged other countries in the region to embrace democracy and give their peoples the freedoms "they desire".
- With inputs from WAM and other agencies
Your comments
I hope President Bush's visit to the GCC countries is futile. The GCC countries are not ready to support the president; they know what will happen if they support the US in the Iran-US conflict. Bush will never like peace in the fast growing economies of the world.
Sulthan
Dubai,India
Posted: January 14, 2008, 15:03
Our leaders will never make any concession to President Bush and will keep the UAE out of this Iran-US conflict; our leaders know better than Bush.
Tazun
Bombay,India
Posted: January 14, 2008, 13:36
The US shouldn't take advantage of a nation's internal issues to further its interests. It had failed to resolve the Kuwait-Iraq crisis. It doesn't have the right to get involved in other countries' internal matters anymore.
Nizam
Chennai,India
Posted: January 14, 2008, 13:28
I don't know why President Bush is calling Iran the leading sponsor of terrorism when it is the US, which has been responsible for two deadly wars in the region. His violent propaganda in the name of democracy doesn't make sense to people of the Middle East.
Enayat
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 14, 2008, 12:43
People from different countries are living peacefully in the UAE. We are afraid your visit may trigger terrorism in the UAE also.
Anil
Ajman,UAE
Posted: January 14, 2008, 09:02
President Bush only spoke on threat from Iran, which may be non-existent, but a lot issues remained unaddressed. Can we ever expect any peace from him?
Arif
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 14, 2008, 08:58
I think all American presidents don't understand the meaning of peace, otherwise solving the Israel-Palestine conflict would not have taken the last 45 years and more. First, Mr Bush saw threat in Afghanistan, then in Iraq and now in Iran. All this is meant to protect Israel. And now he is on a tour to spread propaganda against Iran, saying that all countries around it want war.
Rahman
Bombay,India
Posted: January 14, 2008, 08:44
Bush won't be able to buy UAE's support using Iranian threat as an excuse. The world is much smarter than what he thinks.
Karkain
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 14, 2008, 08:10
I hope that His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum don't make any concessions to President Bush and keep the UAE out of this Iran-US conflict. Getting into it would be a big mistake.
Urs
Uerikon,Switzerland
Posted: January 14, 2008, 02:54
