US President George
W Bush has given one of the biggest speeches of his re-election
campaign, at the end of the Republican Party convention.
He defended his record, notably the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and set out his vision for the next four years.
Mr Bush vowed to stay "on
the offensive" against terrorists worldwide, and
build a safer America. The president also launched a forthright
attack on his Democratic opponent, John Kerry. Opinion
polls suggest the two candidates are running virtually
neck-and-neck ahead of the presidential election in November.
Defence
Mr Bush formally accepted
the Republican party's nomination, and told the convention
in New York that he was "running for president with
a clear and positive plan to build a safer world".
He said that after the attacks of 11 September 2001, his
administration had "fought the terrorists across
the Earth".
Funding for homeland security
has been tripled, the military transformed and intelligence
services strengthened, he told delegates.
"We are staying on
the offensive, striking terrorists abroad, so we do not
have to face them here at home," Mr Bush said.
The president said the
strategy was succeeding, with Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda
network chased from Afghanistan, and hunted in Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia.
"Libya is dismantling
its weapons programmes, the army of a free Iraq is fighting
for freedom, and more than three-quarters of al-Qaeda's
key members and associates have been detained or killed,"
Mr Bush added.
Tough choice
He again mounted a vigorous
defence of the war in Iraq that toppled the regime of
Saddam Hussein.The president said the decision to go to
war was the toughest he had faced, and at the time he
asked himself: "Do I forget the lessons of September
11 and take the word of a madman, or do I take action
to defend our country? "Faced with that choice, I
will defend America every time," he told delegates.
Mr Bush said 50 million
people had been liberated as a result of the interventions
in Iraq and Afghanistan. He added that he was "working
to advance liberty in the broader Middle East".
Mr Bush also outlined his
domestic priorities.
In an echo of his main
campaign theme in the 2000 election, he said he would
run "with a compassionate conservative philosophy",
saying government should "help people improve their
lives, not try to run their lives".
The president promised
legal reforms to protect businesses from "frivolous
lawsuits that threaten jobs" and make the 10-year
tax cut package enacted in 2001 permanent.
He also stressed improving
standards in education, better health care for the elderly,
more job creation and tax relief for businesses in deprived
areas.
Hitting back
Mr Bush contrasted his
policies with those of Mr Kerry, which he said would result
in higher taxes. The incumbent also derided his opponent's
claim to represent "conservative values" - which
Mr Bush said "must have come as a surprise to a lot
of his supporters". In response Mr Kerry for the
first time questioned the war records of both Mr Bush
and vice-president Dick Cheney.
"I'm not going to
have my commitment to defend this country questioned by
those who refused to serve when they could have and by
those who have misled America into Iraq," he told
a rally in Ohio. Republicans have accused Mr Kerry, a
Vietnam veteran, of embellishing his war exploits. Mr
Bush's speech received rapturous applause - although at
one stage he was interrupted by a woman heckler who was
hustled out of the Madison Square Garden convention hall.
Outside, thousands of demonstrators gathered to express
their opposition to the president's policies. The four-day
convention has attracted large-scale street protests with
a number of arrests.
