J-10
07-04-2004, 11:18 PM
America safer after Iraq war: Bush
From Pete Yost in Charleston, West Virginia
July 05, 2004
US President George W. Bush has made an Independence Day speech, declaring America a safer place because Saddam Hussein is in a prison cell.
"Our immediate task in battle fronts like Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere is to capture or kill the terrorists ... so we do not have to face them here at home," he told a cheering crowd outside the West Virginia Capitol.
The enthusiastic audience, estimated by police at 6500, waved American flags and chanted "four more years".
Regarding the deposed Iraqi president, Mr Bush said: "Because we acted, the dictator, the brutal tyrant, is sitting in a prison cell."
Two Bush opponents, taken out of the crowd by police, said they had been told they could not be there because they were wearing shirts that said they opposed the president.
West Virginia, which voted for Bush in 2000, is considered a pivotal state in the 2004 election race.
Making a pitch for votes in a state where 200,000 veterans comprise 15 per cent of the population, Mr Bush praised veterans for "setting a good example for those who have followed ... in Afghanistan and Iraq".
The economy, too, is an important election-year issue for West Virginians, and Mr Bush said: "Our economy is healthy and growing, and that's good news because more people are finding work every single day. That's what we want."
West Virginia's unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in May, down from 6.4 per cent last July.
theAustralian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10045124%255E1702,00.html)
From Pete Yost in Charleston, West Virginia
July 05, 2004
US President George W. Bush has made an Independence Day speech, declaring America a safer place because Saddam Hussein is in a prison cell.
"Our immediate task in battle fronts like Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere is to capture or kill the terrorists ... so we do not have to face them here at home," he told a cheering crowd outside the West Virginia Capitol.
The enthusiastic audience, estimated by police at 6500, waved American flags and chanted "four more years".
Regarding the deposed Iraqi president, Mr Bush said: "Because we acted, the dictator, the brutal tyrant, is sitting in a prison cell."
Two Bush opponents, taken out of the crowd by police, said they had been told they could not be there because they were wearing shirts that said they opposed the president.
West Virginia, which voted for Bush in 2000, is considered a pivotal state in the 2004 election race.
Making a pitch for votes in a state where 200,000 veterans comprise 15 per cent of the population, Mr Bush praised veterans for "setting a good example for those who have followed ... in Afghanistan and Iraq".
The economy, too, is an important election-year issue for West Virginians, and Mr Bush said: "Our economy is healthy and growing, and that's good news because more people are finding work every single day. That's what we want."
West Virginia's unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in May, down from 6.4 per cent last July.
theAustralian (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10045124%255E1702,00.html)