In the threshold of his second term in turbulent times, George W Bush resumed his presidency with a call "from beyond the stars'' to stand consistently for the cause of freedom around the world. Bush summed up his inaugural message with one word: "Freedom.'' The inaugural address of President Bush on Thursday January 20, 2005 was a 180-degree turnaround from the pre-2000 election campaign in which he said he did not believe it was a duty for the US to get involved in nation building. But an attack on American soil and an ongoing War on Terror have forced the president to reconsider and made him to have a real shift in American policy. That shift called also upon another word: “Hope.”
Inaugurations, traditionally, are a time to talk about hope. "This is a cause that unites our country and gives hope to the world,'' he said Wednesday evening just before the fireworks showered the dark sky over the National Mall. A day after, in his inaugural address, he said: "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands, and the best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.''
Though the speech was very much a speech to the world, it was rather obvious that Bush was focusing on the Middle East. He said his second-term priorities include spreading freedom and democracy, especially in the Middle East. And he explained that: “It will be the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture.”
Many foreign policy analysts believe that Bush, in his speech, was actually targeting various countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Iran. And one may say that seeking and supporting the growth of democratic movement and institutions in the Middle East, yes. But think best and fast about Iran, Mr. President. Strategic change to bring freedom and hope is as the gallop there and tomorrow may be too late
Manouchehr Saadat Noury, PhD
February 2005
