CZECH REPUBLIC: U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IN PRAGUE FOR NATO SUMMIT KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN TO WIN SUPPORT FOR POLICY AGAINST IRAQ

Record ID: 335781

  • Title: CZECH REPUBLIC: U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IN PRAGUE FOR NATO SUMMIT KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN TO WIN SUPPORT FOR POLICY AGAINST IRAQ
  • Date: 21st November 2002
  • Summary: (W4) PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (NOVEMBER 20, 2002) (REUTERS) GV PRAGUE SKYLINE MV/SLV/MV CZECH POLICE LOOKING OVER CITY; SLV SPECIAL FORCES PUTTING ON PROTECTIVE CLOTHING OUTSIDE PRAGUE CASTLE (4 SHOTS) SLV BUSH CONVOY ARRIVES AT CASTLE (2 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 6th December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
  • Country: Czech Republic
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4F0HNML8GN065X04TTUADK09R
  • Story Text: U.S. President George W. Bush, in Prague for a NATO summit, has kicked off his campaign to win political support for his hardline policy against Iraq.
    Seeking to ease anxieties among European allies over possible war, Bush promised consultations and said all nations would have a choice on whether they wanted to join.
    Tight security ringed the Czech Republic capital of Prague as U.S. President George Bush and his Nato allies prepared to meet for a Nato summit set to begin on Thursday (November 21, 2002).
    Security was at a heightened level in the city, particularly since police units found a small bomb placed on railtracks yesterday. The road around the American ambassador's residence, where President Bush is staying, has been blocked off and tightly guarded.
    Czech special police force units patrolled overnight, double checking empty train carriages to ensure no further devices have been left. The units also searched and questioned young people in many of the towns bars overnight - anxious to ward off any violence from demonstrations expected later in the day.
    Mindful of anxieties among European allies over U.S.
    policy on Iraq, President Bush promised consultations ahead of any war and said all nations would be offered a chance to choose whether they wanted to join.
    Speaking at a news conference with Czech President Vaclav Havel on Wednesday (November 20), Bush said that NATO members would consider the consequences for Iraq of any failure to comply with a new U.N. disarmament resolution.
    But despite earlier vows of a zero tolerance policy toward Iraq, Bush indicated Washington was seeking a broader answer on whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was meeting demands of the U.N. disarmament resolution.
    "What happens is people tend to focus on the inspectors as if the inspectors are the end.
    The thing that is important, the final point of determination is whether or not he (Saddam Hussein) is disarmed. What we are going to be looking for and I hope the world joins us, is whether or not this man is cooperating with the will of the world," Bush said.
    "It is important for the Czech people to understand that he (Saddam Hussein) has poisoned his own people. He has got such hate in his heart he is willing to use a weapon of mass destruction not only on his neighbourhood but the people of his country. He is a danger and so therefore what we are looking for is to see whether or not he has got the message that he must disarm," Bush said.
    The summit is expected to issue membership invitations to seven countries, including three countries formerly in the Soviet Union, and move to reshape its mission from one of Cold War mutual protection to fighting terrorism.
    The leaders will also agree to overhaul NATO's increasingly obsolete military command structure and will back proposals to set up a 20,000-troop strike force for high-intensity warfare.
    President Bush, the first of the 19 leaders expected to attend the summit, arrived in Prague on Tuesday (November 19) evening. He was followed by Canadian President Jean Chretien on Wednesday morning with British Prime Minister Tony Blair scheduled to arrive later in the evening.
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