Leading Democrats yesterday reacted angrily to President George Bush’s addressto the nation, accusing him of “exploiting the sacred ground” ofSeptember 11 by attempting to link the Iraq war with the terrorist attacks.
In his prime-time speech atFort Braggmilitary base, the president mentioned September 11 five times in 30 minutes ashe argued that withdrawal from Iraqwould leave the USopen to more terrorist attacks.
The twitchy mood in Washington wasunderscored yesterday when the White House was briefly evacuated – and Mr Bushmoved to a safe location – in the latest aviation alert to hit the capital. Theall-clear was rapidly sounded when the airspace rogue proved to be an innocuousprivate aircraft.
Instant polls after MrBush’s speech suggested that he might have solidified support among the largelyRepublican audience who watched the performance, but it was unclear whether hehad made headway against a steadily advancing tide of scepticism about thejustification for the war.
Democrats argued that hehad offered no new ideas on how to beat the insurgency.
They pointed to theadministration’s lack of credibility over Iraq in the wake of post-warinquiries that found no weapons of mass destruction and no substantive prewarlinks between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida.
Nancy Pelosi, the minorityleader in the House of Representatives, said Mr Bush was trying to”exploit the sacred ground of 9/11, knowing that there is no connectionbetween 9/11 and the war in Iraq”.
In his speech, Mr Bush didnot repeat his administration’s prewar claims of a direct Iraqi role in theSeptember 11 attacks. Instead, he suggested that the insurgents shared a common”totalitarian ideology” with al-Qaida, and that if they were notdefeated in Iraq they coulduse the country as a base from which to launch terrorist attacks on the US homeland.
Senator John Kerry, MrBush’s opponent in last November’s election, said the speech represented theadministration’s third rationale for the 2003 invasion.
“The first, of course,was weapons of mass destruction. The second was democracy, and now, tonight,it’s to combat the hotbed of terrorism,” he told CNN.
“But most Americansare aware that the hotbed of terrorism never existed in Iraq until wegot there.”
Senator Joseph Biden, theDemocrats’ leading voice on foreign policy, predicted that the martial rhetoricwould not rescue the president’s standing in the polls, where Mr Bush has lowerratings than presidents Reagan or Clintonat this stage of their second terms. “I think the American people are alot smarter than that,” he said.
However, Andrew Kohut, headof the Pew Research Centre, a Washingtonpolling organisation, said the broader ties outlined by the president mightstrike a chord with the public. “For many Americans the premise for thewar was that Saddam Hussein was a dangerous man and we are better off withouthim,” he said.
“It was not so muchpremised on a direct link between Saddam and al-Qaida, as on the suggestionthat we face a threat from that part of the world and if we leave a mess itwill be a danger to us.”
Though one poll showed thatthe speech drew the smallest audience of any Bush presidential appearance,another poll by Gallupfound that it may have served its purpose in bolstering the resolve of viewers,at least temporarily.
Of an estimated 23 millionwho watched, 54% thought the USwas winning the war, compared with 44% before the speech. But only 23% wereregistered Democrats – and the boost the president received was weak comparedwith the upsurge following similar set-piece speeches in the past.
The address was alsosavaged abroad. A Labour MP, Lynne Jones, said any attempt to suggest that itwas a response to the September 11 attacks was “absolute nonsense”.
“What they haveensured, in invading Iraq,is they have actually promoted al-Qaida’s involvement in other countries,including Iraq.”