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Bush Focuses On Terror At U.N.

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The Washington Post

Published: September 24, 2008

UNITED NATIONS - President Bush challenged the United Nations on Tuesday to live up to its ideals by fighting terrorism and promoting freedom around the world while taking more vigorous action to end the killing in Sudan's Darfur region and pressure the Burmese government to lift its repression.

Amid a gloomy atmosphere caused by the world financial crisis, Bush focused his final address to the U.N. General Assembly on some of his favorite themes, especially the responsibility of member nations to battle terrorists, while seeking to reassure world leaders that the United States is taking steps to put its economic house in order. He also upbraided Russia, calling its invasion of Georgia a "violation" of the U.N. Charter that sets forth the "equal rights of nations large and small."

Bush's administration has had a testy relationship with the United Nations, particularly over the widespread belief here that he took the United States to war in Iraq without a proper international mandate. Tuesday morning, Bush cited the U.N.'s extraordinary "potential" to solve world problems but said it must be more transparent, accountable and vigorous in fighting terrorism and ending tyranny.

"In the decades ahead, the United Nations and other multilateral organizations must continually confront terror," Bush said. "This mission requires clarity of vision. We must see the terrorists for what they are: ruthless extremists who exploit the desperate, subvert the tenets of a great religion and seek to impose their will on as many people as possible."

Bush said the United Nations must challenge tyrannical governments just as forcefully. "History shows that when citizens have a voice in choosing their own leaders, they are less likely to search for meaning in radical ideologies," he said. "And when governments respect the rights of their people, they're more likely to respect the rights of their neighbors."

Bush urged the United Nations to reform its Human Rights Council, which he complained has frequently protected violators.

He called for a more determined effort to help the Burmese people free themselves from repression. He also said the Security Council needs to press Sudan to fulfill commitments to halt violence in Darfur.

For the past eight years, he noted, the United Nations has had "successes and setbacks," and he added: "The United Nations and other multilateral organizations are needed more urgently" than ever.

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