January 21, 2004

S. Korea Cautiously Welcomes Bush Speech

South Korea cautiously welcomed President Bush's warning to "the world's most dangerous regimes" Wednesday, calling it a signal for North Korea to resume talks on its nuclear weapons programs.

Other nations applauded the president's pledge to confront "the regimes that harbor and support terrorists."

Bush singled out North Korea and Iran on the nuclear issue during his State of the Union address Tuesday, pledging "America is committed to keeping the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous regimes."

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the wording underlined Washington's consistent hard-line stand against weapons of mass destruction, and Bush has not dramatically changed his stance since he branded those countries, along with Iraq, two years ago as forming an "axis of evil."

In Japan, parts of Bush's speech were carried live on television. News reports led with his defense of the war in Iraq and support for Libya's cooperation on nuclear programs.
[...]
South Korea applauded Bush for contrasting their case with that of Iraq, toppled by a U.S.-led invasion. Bush underlined that "different threats require different strategies."

"The U.S. president clearly sent a message that North Korea should come out to negotiate and not ignore the nuclear issue," ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil said.
[...]
On the war on terror, the Foreign Ministry's Shin agreed with Bush's assessment it was wrong to believe the danger of terrorism had passed even though it has been more than two years since America was attacked.

Shin also welcomed Bush's salute to allies helping rebuild Iraq, noting Seoul's plans to send 3,000 troops in a mission making South Korea the second biggest coalition partner after the United States and Britain.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, a group of Indonesians were invited to view Bush's address at the U.S. Embassy and engage U.S. Ambassador Ralph Boyce in a question-and-answer session afterward.

"I think (the speech) was very good and very good for a second term for Bush," said Putu Antara, a 64-year-old banker from Bali, where Oct. 12, 2002, nightclub bombings killed 202 people. "As a Balinese man, I was happy to hear about what he (Bush) said about terrorism."

What can I add to this?
We forget sitting in our living rooms that people around the world are watching and listening to our President speak and never more so than after 9/11, as the WOT really is a global war and has tragically reached many nations.
I could care less about whether the speech made Nancy Pelosi or Tom Daschle unhappy, but I do care at how our friends and allies, as well as our enemies perceived it.
This article gives us a good idea and it's the right one to give--"You're either with us or you're with the terrorists."--and President Bush let our Coalition allies, like Indonesia, South Korea and Japan, know that we will share democracy, trade, protection, appreciation for their help and our friendship and that we're definitely not throwing our weight around as the world's lone superpower in order to create a dictatorial empire.
Bravo, President Bush!
Another home run SOTU address!