Bush Defends Legancy Before Going Out

Washington – 16.01.09 – In his farewell bid, outgoing President George W. Bush defended his troubled legacy staunchly claiming he kept America safe since the infamous September 11th attacks.

“There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. But there can be little debate about the results,” the Republican president said in his final televised address while preparing to handover the presidency to Democrat Barack Obama.

“America has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil,” he added.

Some of Bush’s actions after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, such as establishing a detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo and approving harsh interrogation methods that human rights groups said amounted to torture, severely damaged America’s image abroad. Obama has vowed to close the facility.

With the clock ticking down on a presidency many historians are already ranking among the worst ever, Bush and his aides used his last day of public events before Inauguration Day to try to put a positive spin on his two terms in office.

Even as he focused on what he sees as his administration’s successes, Bush was preparing to leave Obama with unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bitter conflict in the Gaza Strip and a U.S. economy deep in recession.

He repeated his warning that the gravest challenge facing his successor is the threat of another terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

“Our enemies are patient, and determined to strike again,” Bush said in excerpts from a 13-minute speech to be delivered from the White House at 8 p.m. on Thursday (0100 GMT on Friday). “We must resist complacency.”

There was no reference in Bush’s prepared remarks to the battered economy, which polls show tops Americans’ concerns. Obama will inherit the worst financial crisis in 80 years, a meltdown that has sent shockwaves across the globe.

Farewell speeches are a ritual for departing U.S. leaders, but the stakes are especially high for Bush, who will step down with one of the lowest public approval ratings of any president in modern times — in the mid-20 percent range.

FOREIGN POLICY RECORD

In a final ceremony at the State Department earlier on Thursday, Bush defended his foreign policy record — from the unpopular war in Iraq to nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea. “We have made the world freer,” he said.

Bush touted security gains in Iraq as vindication for a U.S. troop buildup he ordered there at a time of rampant sectarian violence in 2007.

The Iraq war, launched without U.N. authorization in 2003, undercut U.S. credibility abroad and contributed to a resounding victory by Obama against John McCain, the nominee of Bush’s Republican Party, in the November election.

Bush also made clear he saw his failed effort to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians in his final year as not completely in vain, despite a 3-week-old Israel-Hamas war in Gaza with no end in sight.

“We outlined a vision of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,” Bush said, although little concrete progress was actually made toward Palestinian statehood on his watch.

Bush also lauded his administration’s handling of Iran and North Korea, both of which have faced U.S.-led campaigns against their nuclear programs.

“We worked in a multilateral fashion to deal with issues like Iran and North Korea,” he said of his efforts to isolate two of the countries he once branded part of an “axis of evil.” Obama has said he would pursue direct diplomacy with foes.

“In Asia, we deepened our alliances with old friends, Japan and South Korea, and we strengthened ties with China,” Bush said, adding his administration had opened a new strategic partnership with India and battled AIDS in Africa.

In thanking U.S. diplomats for their work overseas, Bush also alluded to Afghanistan, where the Taliban is resurgent seven years after being ousted by U.S.-led forces. Critics say he neglected the conflict because he was distracted by Iraq.