The United States must be prepared to take the War on Terror to up to 60 countries if weapons of mass destruction are to be kept out of terroristsí hands, President Bush said at the weekend.
His impassioned speech to 1,000 graduates of West Point Military Academy in New York State on Saturday marks a watershed in the Administrationís foreign policy.
Mr Bush said that terrorism cells in countries that make up close to one third of the globe must be actively sought and dismantled. ìWe must take that battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans and confront the worst threats before they emerge,î he said, adding that Americans must be ìready for pre- emptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our livesî.
He said: ìIn the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act.î
The 52-minute speech also contained a series of thinly veiled attacks on countries already singled out as enemies of the US. Mr Bush did not mention any country by name, but he pointed repeatedly to non-democratic regimes that are said to sponsor terrorism. In what officials later hinted was a reference to President Saddam Husseinís regime in Iraq, Mr Bush said that attempts to contain terrorist activity and anti-US sentiments within some countries would fail without direct action.
ì[Containment] is not possible when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or can provide them to terrorist allies,î he said.
The criticism of foreign countries appeared to go further than any other he has made since September 11. ìSome nations need military training to fight terror and we will provide it,î Mr Bush said. ìOther nations oppose terror but tolerate the hatred that leads to terror and that must change.î White House officials told The Washington Post that these comments were directed at Middle East allies such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
If the United States decides to make surprise strikes on other countries, it will mark a big change in strategy for the US military, which traditionally acts only in self-defence.
The speech was billed by the White House as the first instalment of a renewed ìoverall security frameworkî. The framework will be expanded in a national security strategy document expected in July.
Mr Bush said that Americaís foreign policy would have three strands. ìWe will defend the peace against threats from terrorists and tyrants. We will preserve the peace by building good relations among the great powers. And will we will extend the peace by encouraging free and open societies on every continent.î
He said that the conflict the graduates would be required to fight would differ greatly from that fought by their forefathers in Japan and Europe. ìEnemies in the past needed great armies and great industrial capabilities to endanger the American people and our nation,î Mr Bush said. ìThe attacks of September 11 required a few hundred thousand dollars in the hands of a few dozen evil and deluded men. All of the chaos and suffering they caused came at much less than the cost of a single tank.î
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