The Whitehall Address

And some early reactions.

Here is President George W. Bush's speech at the Royal Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace, London, Nov. 19:

.... The last President to stay at Buckingham Palace was an idealist, without question. At a dinner hosted by King George V, in 1918, Woodrow Wilson made a pledge; with typical American understatement, he vowed that right and justice would become the predominant and controlling force in the world.

President Wilson had come to Europe with his 14 Points for Peace. Many complimented him on his vision; yet some were dubious. Take, for example, the Prime Minister of France. He complained that God, himself, had only 10 commandments. (Laughter.) Sounds familiar. (Laughter.)

At Wilson's high point of idealism, however, Europe was one short generation from Munich and Auschwitz and the Blitz. Looking back, we see the reasons why. The League of Nations, lacking both credibility and will, collapsed at the first challenge of the dictators. Free nations failed to recognize, much less confront, the aggressive evil in plain sight. And so dictators went about their business, feeding resentments and anti-Semitism, bringing death to innocent people in this city and across the world, and filling the last century with violence and genocide.

Through world war and cold war, we learned that idealism, if it is to do any good in this world, requires common purpose and national strength, moral courage and patience in difficult tasks. And now our generation has need of these qualities.

On September the 11th, 2001, terrorists left their mark of murder on my country, and took the lives of 67 British citizens. With the passing of months and years, it is the natural human desire to resume a quiet life and to put that day behind us, as if waking from a dark dream. The hope that danger has passed is comforting, is understanding, and it is false. The attacks that followed — on Bali, Jakarta, Casablanca, Bombay, Mombassa, Najaf, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Istanbul — were not dreams. They're part of the global campaign by terrorist networks to intimidate and demoralize all who oppose them.

These terrorists target the innocent, and they kill by the thousands. And they would, if they gain the weapons they seek, kill by the millions and not be finished. The greatest threat of our age is nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists, and the dictators who aid them. The evil is in plain sight. The danger only increases with denial. Great responsibilities fall once again to the great democracies. We will face these threats with open eyes, and we will defeat them. (Applause.) ....

A WSJ editorial at OpinionJournal, Nov. 21:

We suspect that President Bush's London visit this week will go down as one of the most memorable of his tenure, and not because of the protests everyone had predicted. Rather, it will be remembered for the speech he delivered Wednesday in which he eloquently laid down the principles behind the war on terror, and especially the Iraq portion of that war.

In its timing and character, Mr. Bush's speech at Whitehall echoed Ronald Reagan's exposition of America's Cold War principles during his famous speech to Parliament in 1982. That speech too was delivered at a moment of enormous Western debate and protest. Soviet Communism, Mr. Reagan nonetheless correctly foretold at Westminster, will be consigned to "the ash heap of history." Middle East dictatorships, Mr. Bush said this week, have the opportunity to join the "democratic revolution that has reached much of the world." ....

From Stephen Pollard in yesterday's London Telegraph:

Would you believe it? Not only can that Texan halfwit speak in proper sentences, he is even capable of reading a good speech and not fluffing his lines. It only goes to show what you can do with a speechwriter and some coaching. The response to President George W Bush's speech on Wednesday has been almost universally (and so typically Britishly) condescending. Few have criticised its content; since it ranks as one of the finest delivered by a visiting leader; that would be a sneer too far. Instead, reaction has been surprise, either feigned or genuine, that he managed to speak for so long, so well.

Mary Dejevsky, writing in The Independent, was typical: "Whoever has been coaching George Bush in oratory deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom (and a congratulatory glass of champagne)." Almost the entire British chattering class seems to be animated by the same deep-seated contempt for Mr Bush. Even when confronted by the evidence of their own eyes and ears, that he is a thoughtful, charming, convincing, eloquent, intelligent, forceful leader, they cannot bring themselves to believe that he is as he seems. And when they do witness such positive traits, they are clearly being hoodwinked. As The Guardian began its leader on Thursday: "Conscious that he has a bit of catching up do to, George Bush turned on the charm yesterday."

No, he didn't. He spoke as he always does: with a clarity of moral and political purpose unmatched by any American politician since Ronald Reagan, and with a charm that all who have met him confirm is entirely natural. The speech should hardly have come as a surprise. After all, he spoke just as eloquently when interviewed by Sir David Frost last Sunday. But until now the chatterers have chosen neither to listen nor to see. Last week they had no alternative, and so decided it was a one-off....

From James G. Lakely in yesterday's Washington Times:

Some of President Bush's most strident critics acknowledge that his trip last week to Britain was not the failure they expected, while his allies see it as a historic moment in international diplomacy.

The keystone was Mr. Bush's speech Wednesday, peppered with self-deprecating humor and reaffirming the "special relationship" between the United States and Great Britain.

"The British people are the sort of partners you want when serious work needs doing," Mr. Bush said, thanking Prime Minister Tony Blair for being his staunch ally in "a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East."

Mr. Bush also vowed that the United States no longer would turn a blind eye to repression by Middle East "elites" for the sake of preserving stability — a reference not only to American enemies such as Syria and Iran, but also allies like Saudi Arabia and Egypt....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 11/24/03 07:55:25 AM
Categorized as George W. Bush & International & Speeches and Suchlike.