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COMMENTARY -- WAR -- The completed article.
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Burundi's president has called for a debate over his planned departure from power on 1 May. The power sharing deal allowed for the change of leader exactly half-way through a transitional three year government of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. As part of the deal, a Hutu vice-president is due to take over, but speaking in parliament, Tutsi President Pierre Buyoya told MPs that he wanted a discussion with politicans and the public on the issue. The BBC's reporter in Burundi, Prime Ndikumagenge told the Focus on Africa programme that the indications are that Mr Buyoya is not ready to leave. Shaky truce Mr Buyoya told MPs that there were things that still have to be done that had not been done, during the first 16 months of the transitional government. Our correspondent says he was referring to an agreement to integrate rebel fighters into the Tutsi-dominated army.
The largely Hutu Frodebu party on Thursday said that the power-sharing agreement must be respected in full, or there was no point in signing agreements. Mr Buyoya also highlighted the government's achievements, including the signing of ceasefire agreements with three of the four main rebel groups. He warned the National Liberation Front (FNL) rebels that the government would take the fight to them until they signed up to peace. More than 300,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in the nine-year civil war in Burundi. A shaky truce has not been observed and fighting continues, even with the Front for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) rebels, that have signed a ceasefire.  . End of article 1.
The BBC's Pascale Harter travelled to the town of Kelle - near the border with Gabon - to find it completely deserted. She says the town's inhabitants fled after a witch-doctor told them they would all be dead in four days. The World Health Organisation has been holding meetings with local leaders trying to raise awareness about what causes Ebola - in particular the dangers of eating wild animals or touching the bodies of whose who have died of the disease. Hiding Our correspondent told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that about 2,000 of Kelle's inhabitants had gone into hiding. She says it is a tense and frightening atmosphere - everyone is nervous about getting Ebola. The disease begins with high fever, diarrhoea, bleeding from the nose and gums, and can eventually induce massive internal haemorrhages.
Four teachers have been killed by a mob after being accused of causing the outbreak. And people have been unwilling to seek medical help - only about five people have been hospitalised and one is showing signs of pulling through. The WHO has appealed for international aid to cover the costly isolation techniques used in containing the Ebola virus as well as securing food for the population. The Congolese Government has already appealed to the United Nations World Food Programme for help. But the WFP has warned that it was already
hopelessly overstretched in providing food aid for 60,000 people who have fled
ongoing fighting in the Pool Region of Congo. . End of article 2.
The UN secretary general has twisted arms and persuaded the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to meet him again in 10 days' time in The Hague, and then - no more delay. Either they agree to put the UN peace plan to simultaneous referenda in a month's time, or else... "I would expect them," Mr Annan said, "to arrive prepared there and then to tell me whether or not they will sign a commitment in The Hague to submit a foundation agreement to approval at separate, simultaneous referenda on 30 March in order to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem." But the omens are not looking too good.
Tassos Papadopoulos has a tough reputation, and there is plenty about the UN plan he does not like. But after he took the oath of office in parliament on Friday, his tone was conciliatory: "We dare to walk," he said, "with our compatriots the Turkish Cypriots, on the long road towards reunification and peace." Nice sentiments, but it is a bit short on detail. Frustration On Thursday, tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots poured onto the streets to support the UN plan. If there is no deal on reunification, they fear they could miss the boat when the Greek Cypriot Government signs up for membership of the European Union in April. Many protestors called for the resignation of their veteran leader Rauf Denktas. Even as Kofi Annan was leaving the island, Mr Denktas called for wholesale renegotiations. "The essence of this plan," he said, "is rotten." But in northern Nicosia, Mr Denktas is being challenged as never before. Pro-peace campaigners are cutting wood for pyres which burn each night in support of peace. Turkish troops are watching discreetly but will Turkey push its Cypriot brethren towards a deal? No-one really knows. Either way, the mayor of northern Nicosia, Kutlay Erk, who supports the UN plan, has told me that things have to change in this de facto state which has been under international embargo for years. Differing mindsets In the Greek Cypriot south it is party time. Carnival has begun. The UN plan is not the all-consuming topic here that it is in the north. But in the south, too, there is uncertainty. Some say the Greek Cypriots would reject Kofi Annan's current plan if a referendum were to be held. Increasingly the divide on Cyprus is not between Greeks and Turks, but between those who stick to the old ways and those who are prepared to compromise and make a deal. Decision day is looming.
. End of article 3.
Mr Klaus beat the candidate of the centre-left coalition government, Jan Sokol, in a third and final round of voting in the parliament. It was the third time in six weeks Czech MPs had met to try to elect a president.
In the third round, Mr Klaus won 142 votes in the 281-member parliament, giving him the simple majority of all deputies he needed, according to unofficial results. Mr Klaus, who was standing for the third time, had won the most votes in the two previous elections, and in the first two rounds of voting on Friday, but not enough to win. 'Not a success' In a short speech after the vote, he promised to co-operate with parliament and government. "I also want to assure the citizens of the Czech Republic that in this post I'm prepared not to disappoint any among the 10 million of them," he said. However, the BBC's Alix Kroeger says Mr Klaus' election will put further pressure on an already fragile governing coalition. Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, while promising he would congratulate the president-elect, said the vote was "not a success" for the ruling coalition. The vote is also a blow to former President Havel, who has had an often stormy relationship with Mr Klaus. Call for change Mr Klaus was up against Jan Sokol, a university professor and former education minister. The government coalition enjoys a slim majority in both houses of parliament, which should have given Mr Sokol a good chance. But several coalition deputies refused to give Mr Sokol their backing. Mr Havel - a former jailed dissident who became president after the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 - completed the maximum allowed two terms in office on 2 February. Analysts say parliament was under increasing pressure to elect a president in time for a possible US-led war on Iraq. The president's post is largely ceremonial, but the president is the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces. . End of article 4.
An Arab country has made the first official call for Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to go into exile in order to avert a US-led invasion. The United Arab Emirates submitted the proposal in a letter to the crisis summit on Iraq being held by Arab leaders in Egypt. It would mean Saddam Hussein and the rest of the Iraqi leadership leaving their country within 14 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Iraq would then be put under the control of the United Nations and the Arab League. President Saddam earlier this week dismissed suggestions that he should go into exile.
The BBC's Caroline Hawley says the UAE proposal is something of a diplomatic bombshell amid all the summit niceties and talk of Arab unity. It seems certain, she reports from the summit, to deepen the divisions at this summit, where Arab leaders have been struggling to come up with a common stand. Arabs divided over US action The summit began on Saturday in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with a strong anti-war message. "We oppose a war against Iraq or any other Arab country and will regard it as a threat to the whole Arab nation," Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said in the opening speech. At the same time, he urged Iraq to "continue its co-operation with the United Nations in order not to provide any pretext that would lead to a war".
Syria, backed by a handful of other countries, has been pushing for a strong stand. The Syrians say war can only be averted if the Arabs deny the United States the use of their territory to launch an attack. But Iraq's neighbours in the Gulf are already hosting more than 200,000 American and British troops poised for war. Consequently, our correspondent says, Gulf countries are not going to agree to a resolution which can only embarrass them. Under the Arab League's system of
rotation, Bahrain took over the League's presidency on Saturday from
Lebanon. Limited options It is thought the most likely compromise is one that will call for a peaceful resolution and urge Iraq to co-operate more fully with the weapons inspectors.
The Arabs are desperate to avoid this war as they fear it will unleash popular anger and they do not like the precedent of regime change by American force. But, our correspondent says, they know they can neither defy the US nor influence Saddam Hussein. Iraq is represented at the summit by a
senior official, Ezzat Ibrahim. . End of article 5.
"I can confirm now that four al-Samoud missiles have been destroyed," spokesman Hiro Ueki said. "One casting chamber was destroyed at another site south of Baghdad," he added. Mr Blix's deputy Dimitri Perricos said Baghdad would dismantle the rest of the medium-range missiles within a "few days or a very short few weeks". Mr Blix has described the move as "very significant" but the United States and the UK remain highly sceptical. The UN says the missiles breach range limits it imposed after the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq insists the missiles overshot their allowed limit only because they were tested without heavy guidance systems or warheads. It is believed there are 70-100 of the missiles in Iraq.
The White House was unimpressed with events in Baghdad. "Resolution 1441 called for complete, total and immediate disarmament. It did not call for pieces of disarmament," said Merci Viana, a presidential spokeswoman. "This is a very significant piece of real disarmament," Mr Blix said when Iraq said it would destroy the missiles. In a draft report written before Baghdad's decision to comply with the Saturday deadline, Mr Blix told the UN Security Council that inspections had produced "very limited results". He formally submitted that report - said to be very similar to the draft - to the UN on Friday evening, but said afterwards that it had been largely overtaken by events. UN officials also confirmed on Saturday that weapons inspectors had conducted their first private interviews with Iraqi scientists for three weeks; one was a biologist, another an engineer. In other developments:
. End of article 6.
The Basra road - I already feel I know it well - a featureless desert highway that cuts through the desolate plain of northern Kuwait, and on into Iraq. Just the one slight rise as it climbs the Mutla ridge, where fleeing Iraqis were cut down as they fled in 1991.
Oh, and a sign that says, in fluorescent green: "God Bless US troops" - a reminder that here, unusually, is an Arab country where they just love America. If you want to know what's going on as Britain and America prepare for war, you can do worse than spend a couple of hours standing by the side of this unprepossessing highway, with its long line of electricity pylons marching out across the empty expanse. Wait a little while, and distant headlights appear through the yellow mist of a sandstorm. Minutes later, a military convoy rumbles by. Trucks, jeeps, fuel tankers, buses with their windows blacked out, and armoured vehicles of every description. The slow, lumbering paraphernalia of a war machine grinding into gear. Pretty soon, the convoy takes a sharp left or right, and heads off into the desert, churning up even more dust. And the eye is drawn away from the highway, over low sand walls a few hundred yards back, to things you hadn't realised were there. Rallying point Sprawling tent cities, watch-towers and sandy car parks full of vehicles. Soon, you begin to appreciate the sheer size of it all. This is the heart of Camp Coyote - a vast swathe of northern Kuwait set aside for British and American troops. Tens of thousands are already here, many more are on the way. Every day, up the Basra road, another piece of the military jigsaw arrives to be slotted into place. In recent days, British soldiers have been much in evidence. The Royal Marines are here - so too the paratroopers of 16 Air Assault. Now, last on the scene, the Desert Rats, waving, grimacing or just plain concentrating as they drive by with their heavy armour.
The troops seem friendly enough, and their spokespeople keen to show us how they're getting on. But, for the moment at least, that's not what Downing Street wants. With the public still gravely concerned about a possible war, and MPs in revolt, the government's spin doctors have decided that we should not be exposed to unduly warlike images. Hardly surprising, perhaps, but it's already having some farcical results. With the press at home concentrating on issues like toilet paper and food, the first formal British media facility took us to the less-than warlike surroundings of a field kitchen. Carefully honed image Very impressive, in its way, but those charged with organising the event were quite open about the reason it was happening: this, they told us, is what the spin doctors want you to see. By the time the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, arrived to inspect the troops, earlier this week, Downing Street's coyness came face to face with reality.
On a chilly, murky afternoon, the men of 42 Commando laid out some of their kit for the minister to inspect. There were weapons aplenty, including a handful of 105 millimetre light guns, parked in a row, their barrels pointing in the general direction of Iraq. Even a couple of snipers, heavily camouflaged, peering from a shallow foxhole. It was contrived, static and felt more like a stand at a trade fair than British soldiers getting ready for war. But somehow it was altogether too realistic for Mr Hoon's media handlers, who ticked off the Royal Marines spokesman for this martial display. His response was terse: what exactly had the secretary of state expected to see on a visit to the troops? Contrasting frankness Across the road, at the charmingly named but equally bleak Camp Mathilda, we found elements of the US Marine Corps, making their own preparations.
They, unlike their British counterparts, were allowed to show off, and describe in great detail, the sort of machines they use. And, when questioned about their precise skills, we found them disarmingly frank. "We kill people, sir, and blow things up." Perhaps Downing Street believes that the Americans can rattle enough sabres for two. But there's something disingenuous about this whole media strategy. It's as if, having sent the troops out, the government would somehow like us to forget that they're there. And so, day after day, we stand by the side of the Basra Road, waiting for the glimmer of British lights in the distance.  . End of article 7.
Pope John Paul II has decided to send a personal envoy to Washington to deliver a message to United States President George W Bush about the threatened war against Iraq. The Vatican has already made it amply clear that it opposes the US administration's plan for war against Iraq to remove President Saddam Hussein from power. The Pope has either seen in person - or sent his personal envoy - to several of the main protagonists in the current international crisis. The Vatican's peace-making efforts have included recent papal audiences at the Vatican with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Tariq Aziz, Iraq's deputy prime minister, and also the Spanish prime minister, who supports Mr Bush. Significant gesture Now the Pope is sending Cardinal Pio Laghi, a retired Vatican diplomat who was for many years Papal Nuncio in America, with a personal message to Mr Bush appealing to a peaceful solution to the crisis with Iraq. A brief Vatican statement said Cardinal Laghi was to inform the US of the various initiatives undertaken by the Vatican to contribute towards disarmament and peace in the Middle East. The Pope has no illusions about the chances of his envoy persuading Mr Bush to change his mind. But his gesture will please the US Catholic bishops who have been telling their faithful that war is morally wrong. It will also be appreciated by Iraq's tiny
Catholic minority. . End of article 8 .
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Thousands of people have rallied in Seoul to
protest against North Korea's nuclear programmes, as South Korean President Roh
Moo-hyun called for peace.
The rare anti-North Korea and pro-US rally came three months after larger anti-US rallies that helped Mr Roh win the election. The demonstration by mostly elderly war veterans and members of Christian groups followed reports that North Korea had reactivated a nuclear reactor which produces plutonium that could be used to make nuclear weapons.
"If peace on the Korean peninsula is broken, we cannot afford the huge disaster it would trigger," he said, in his first televised speech since he was sworn in as president on Tuesday. But outside Seoul's city hall, tens of thousands of protesters said South Korea must strengthen its military alliance with the US, which has 37,000 troops in South Korea. "The best way to secure peace is to be prepared for war," said a placard held by one protester. "We are not against Roh Moo-hyun, but we want him to listen to conservative views as well as so-called progressive ones," a Korean War veteran told Reuters news agency. US troops The new president has said he supports the military accord with the US, but he wants to make changes giving South Korea more jurisdiction over the soldiers in case of criminal allegations. He has also differed with the US over how to deal with the North Korean nuclear crisis. Mr Roh opposes any military action. The US says it has no plans to invade North Korea but that it cannot rule out any options. The standoff over North Korea started last October when the US said Pyongyang has admitted to a secret nuclear programme. The US stopped fuel aid to North Korea, which reacted by kicking weapons inspectors out of the country and re-starting an earlier mothballed nuclear programme. It has also pulled out the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which seeks to control the spread of nuclear arms. North Korea wants direct talks with Washington to resolve the issue, but Washington has said that would be giving in to nuclear blackmail. . End of article 9.
Sheikh Mohammed was arrested with two other unidentified men in what the White House called a "successful joint operation" between the US and Pakistani authorities, in a pre-dawn raid in the city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad. He had long been on the FBI's most wanted list - and the US had recently increased the reward for his capture to $25m. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer in a statement commended the detentions and said that the US authorities had been involved, although he did not specify the precise nature of their role. Rashid Qureshi, spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf, told Reuters news agency also commended the detentions, describing it as a "a big achievement". "He is the kingpin of al-Qaeda," he said. US indictment US authorities believe the 37-year-old Kuwaiti is a leading figure in the al-Qaeda network and helped to plan the 11 September attacks.
He has been indicted in America for plotting to blow up American commercial airliners in the Philippines in the mid-1990s. BBC correspondent Nick Childs says that US officials were delighted at such a significant breakthrough, coming at a crucial time when a war with Iraq looms closer and fears have been growing in the US over further terror attacks. US intelligence agents have been hunting remnants of Afghanistan's former Taleban regime and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network since the US-led military action in Afghanistan in late 2001. Hundreds al-Qaeda militants and former Taleban ministers are thought to have fled into Pakistan since US-led forces launched the strikes following the 11 September attacks. Other key arrests Dozens have subsequently been arrested, including senior al-Qaeda leader Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni national.
He is alleged to have been one of the main planners of the attacks in Washington and New York who was handed over to the US. Another top al-Qaeda suspect, Abu Zabaydah, thought to have been Bin Laden's field commander, was captured in March 2002. He was subsequently handed over to the US and is said to have been co-operating with investigators. He is also thought to have been the source behind many of America's terror warnings since the 11 September attacks. Pakistan's Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, did not say if Sheikh Mohammed had been handed over to US authorities. However reports say he may be turned over to US authorities and interrogated in an undisclosed foreign country. Bin Laden speculation Right-wingers in the Pakistani Government have strongly opposed any US intervention in raids or searches for al-Qaeda suspects. BBC Islamabad correspondent Paul Anderson says that Sheikh Mohammed's capture strikes at the heart of the al-Qaeda network. And, he says, it is bound to raise speculation as to the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden, whom some experts believe may be hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border area. . End of article 10.
MPs voted 264-250 in favour of the deployment, but the motion fell four votes short of the required majority of deputies present in the chamber. The vote came amid mounting pressure from Washington, which has ships laden with tanks anchored off the Turkish shore. In its first reaction, the State Department asked for "clarification" of the Turkish vote. Turkey will receive $15bn in aid and loans from the US if it allows the deployment. The motion - if passed in a subsequent vote scheduled on Tuesday - would also authorise the government to send Turkish troops to Kurdish-populated northern Iraq in the event of war. The US urgently wants to deploy 62,000 troops and more than 250 planes in Turkey as part of its military plans. Turkey could send twice as many troops to northern Iraq. The BBC's Jonny Dymond in Ankara says the knife-edge vote is a massive blow for the four-month-old Turkish Government which has a massive majority in parliament. But he says, it is in accord with overwhelming popular disapproval of a war against Iraq - thousands took to the streets as the vote was being taken. Anti-war feeling More than 50 deputies disobeyed the leaders of the Prime Minister Abdullah Gul's governing Justice and Development party. The party's leaders are due to meet on Sunday to discuss what to do next. No one expected the vote to be so close, our correspondent says, and no-one knows what will come next.
Opinion polls show that 80% of Turks are opposed to the war and tens of thousands of protesters, from academics to family parties, turned out in central Ankara. They chanted "No War" and "We don't want to be America's soldiers".
Turkey, the only Muslim state in Nato, is also afraid of alienating a key ally. The military deal agreed by Washington and Ankara is believed to cover both the practicalities of how US troops will operate within Turkey - including which country's laws they are subject to - and the much more sensitive issue of how the Turkish and US armies would co-operate in Iraq. In other developments:
. End of article 11.
Arab leaders meeting in Egypt say they "completely" reject any military attack on Iraq and their countries will not participate in a potential war. Leaders from the 22-member Arab League met Saturday, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for a day-long summit. Their final statement called for the rejection of a strike against Iraq or any act threatening the security and safety of any Arab country, characterizing it as a threat to all Arab nations. The United Arab Emirates sought to introduce a proposal calling for President Saddam Hussein and the entire leadership in Baghdad to step down in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Previously, the Iraqi leader has stated publicly that he would rather die in Iraq than go into exile. The UAE's proposal was the first public call from an Arab nation call for President Saddam's resignation, but it is not clear if the delegates debated the plan. A shouting match between Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah and Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi nearly brought the summit to an abrupt halt. Colonel Ghadafi criticized the Saudis for allowing U.S. forces on Saudi territory. The two leaders had a heated exchange and the Saudi Crown Prince had to be persuaded by other Arab leaders not to leave the gathering. Arab countries have urged Baghdad repeatedly to cooperate with United Nations resolutions on disarmament, but also have called for a peaceful solution to the crisis. Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
. End of article 12.
The Arab League statement says its members agreed on the "complete rejection" of a military strike against Iraq. The statement called on all Arab states to refrain from participating in any military action against Baghdad. The statement said no action should be taken outside of the U.N. Security Council, and asked that weapons inspectors in Iraq be given more time to complete their mission. It also called on the Iraqi government to comply with all U.N. resolutions. The communiqué, issued after a day-long summit, also called for the formation of a high-level Arab delegation, including representatives from Tunisia, Lebanon and Bahrain, that would be sent to both Baghdad and the Security Council to put forth the Arab position regarding possible war with Iraq. Arab League officials said prior to Saturday's summit that, while they were powerless to prevent a possible U.S.-led attack against Iraq, they would continue to seek a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis. During the summit, the United Arab Emirates issued a proposal calling for Saddam Hussein and his government to step down and leave Iraq. The proposal called for international guarantees that the Iraqi regime would not be prosecuted and called for amnesty for all Iraqis both inside Iraq and abroad. It marked the first time an Arab state has officially called for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq. The
Arab League rejected a call by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for all Arab
states to refuse to allow their military bases to be used by U.S. troops. There
are tens-of-thousands of U.S. and British troops located in Kuwait, Qatar,
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
. End of article 13.
Jack Straw is not impressed with the latest Iraqi concession. Speaking before a Labor Party conference in Southport, England, the foreign secretary said, far from representing real disarmament, the move is simply further proof of bad faith on the part of the Iraqi leader. "What Saddam Hussein does and what he has done over the last 12 years in order to maintain his reign of terror and keep his capability is he plays the international community," he said. "Trying to divide them, trying to trickle out concessions. This whole crisis would be at an end, if Saddam Hussein, instead of just doing this, was to say, 'look, I am now finally going to be in complete, immediate and full compliance.' " Mr. Straw says, even if the Iraqi leader destroys all of his Al-Samoud 2 missiles, his government still controls enormous stocks of chemical and biological weapons, a claim rejected by Baghdad. The missiles were ordered destroyed because tests show they can travel some 30 kilometers further than the specified limits imposed by the United Nations after the 1991 Gulf war. The Iraqis claim the missiles, when loaded with warheads, would be heavier, and would fly only within the restricted range. Mr. Straw says any easing of pressure now on Saddam Hussein would be what he calls a disaster for the United Nations and the Iraqi people.
. End of article 14.
President Bush says he is determined to confront Saddam Hussein and destroy suspected stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. "This dictator will not be allowed to intimidate and blackmail the civilized world, or to supply his terrible weapons to terrorist groups, who would not hesitate to use them against us," Mr. Bush said. " The safety of the American people depends on ending this threat." In his weekly radio address, the president did not mention Iraq's agreement in principle to meet U.N. demands that it begin destroying missiles that exceed U.N. limits. Instead, he discussed plans for a post-war Iraq, promising to support efforts to feed Iraqi civilians and refugees. After Saddam Hussein, Mr. Bush says, Iraqis will be free to choose new leaders, but only those, he says, who are inclusive and respect human rights and the rule of law. "The United States has no intention of determining the precise form of Iraq's new government. That choice belongs to the Iraqi people," the president said. " Yet, we will ensure that one brutal dictator is not replaced by another. All Iraqis must have a voice in the new government, and all citizens must have their rights protected." With more than 180,000 troops in the region, Mr. Bush says he is ready to use force against the Iraqi leader, if he does not comply with U.N. demands to disarm. Mr. Bush says he is determined to enforce the demands of the U.N. Security Council. But there is considerable difference among the Council's permanent members about what those demands entail. All agree Iraq should disarm, but there is nothing in existing U.N. resolutions calling for a change of leadership. Britain is ready to join a war against Iraq. But the Council's other permanent members France, Russia, and China currently oppose the use of force, and say U.N. disarmament demands can still be met through peaceful weapons inspections. While the White House insists the president has still not decided whether to use force, Mr. Bush now speaks of a post-war Iraq, as if it were inevitable. "It will be difficult to help freedom take hold in a country that has known three decades of dictatorship, secret police, internal divisions, and war," he said. " Yet, the security of our nation and the hopes of millions depend on us, and Americans do not turn away from duties because they are hard. We have met great tests in other times, and we will meet the tests of our time." In the Democratic party's response to the president's radio address, Washington Senator Patty Murray said President Bush should not let his focus on Iraq distract from domestic challenges, including a weak economy. "As we confront challenges abroad, we cannot ignore what's happening here at home," she said. " To feel secure about our future, we need to do more than address global conflicts. We must strengthen our homeland security and improve our stagnant economy." Democrats say the president's tax cut plan unfairly favors the rich. Mr. Bush says it is meant to stimulate the economy by putting more cash in people's pockets.
. End of article 15.
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We dare to walk with our compatriots the
Turkish Cypriots, on the long road towards reunification and
peace 
