George W. Bush's second term as President of the United States
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George W. Bush's second term as President of the United States began at noon on January 20, 2005 and is due to expire with the swearing-in of the 44th President of the United States at noon, Washington, D.C. time, on January 20, 2009.
During a visit to the Republic of Georgia on May 10, 2005 there was an attempt to assassinate Bush by Vladimir Arutinian, whose live grenade failed to detonate after hitting a girl and landing in the large crowd 19 meters from the podium where Bush was delivering a speech.
Stated goals
Bush's stated goals for his second term:
- Major changes to the federal tax code
- Limits on medical malpractice lawsuits (tort reform and non-economic damages caps)
- Reform of Social Security
- Possible amnesty for many illegal aliens living and working in the United States
- Continuation of the occupation of Iraq
- Continue to fight the War on Terror
- Strengthen public education, particularly through the continuation of the No Child Left Behind Act
- Expand college affordability programs
Inauguration
More than $4 million as raised by private sponsors such as Home Depot, Bank of America Corp., Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ford Motor Co. The money was to be spent on parties, parades, and other celebrations before and after the actual inauguration. Donors received special tickets and privileged seating at the events. While Bill Clinton's second inauguration in 1997 cost $42.7 million, Bush drew some criticism for planning such an extravagant celebration. [1]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated the inaugural events as a National Special Security Event (NSSE). The designation provided additional security measures and a higher number of security personnel. Bush was surrounded by Secret Service officers and police on all sides of the procession from the Capitol to the White House and snipers were positioned on top of buildings. Due to the tight security measures the most significant threat to materialise was a snowball thrown at Dick Cheney's limousine. There were many protestors and at least one fire, however, but this did not threaten the safety of the event in any significant way. Bush remained in his own limousine until he reached the last leg of the journey down Pennsylvania Avenue, where, as is traditional, he got out of his car and walked the rest of the way. This was the most heavily secured inauguration in the history of the United States.
First 100 days
George W. Bush, having won a majority of the vote in the 2004 election for the first time in an American presidential election since his father in 1988, began his second term with a self-declared "historic victory" [2] and "political capital" [3]. He is the sixteenth president to win a full second term. As in his first term, he began his second administration with a majority of his party, the Republicans, in both the House and Senate.
Social Security Reform
The first month of Bush's second term was mainly consumed with debate over one of his stated goals, partial privatization of Social Security. So far the plan calls to give younger workers the option of redirecting some payroll taxes into their own private account. Current retirees and those soon to retire would see little change, but opponents of Social Security reform contend that later retirees would receive lower benefits. Congress' budget analysts estimated that the program's trust funds would be depleted in 2052, and something had to be done now to save the program. Republicans even argued that the trust fund had already been spent for other purposes with no plan to pay it back and that Social Security would run out of funds by 2018. Democrats, however, accused the President and other Republicans of creating a Social Security scare, and that the program was not in as much danger as the Republicans had claimed. Social Security plan remained a priority for Bush's national agenda for several months but it proved unpopular with the majority of the public [4] and ultimately no reform came to pass.
2005 State of the Union Address
On February 2 Bush delivered the first State of the Union Address of his second term. He discussed his plans for partially privatizing Social Security, receiving jeers from Democrats and applause from Republicans. He chastised Iran as the "primary state sponsor of terror" [5] and promised Iranian reformists the backing of the US, and warned Syria to stop supporting terrorists as well. He encouraged Egypt and Saudi Arabia to do more to foster democracy as part of the United States' highest ideal in the War on Terror: "America will stand with the allies of freedom to support democratic movements in the Middle East and beyond, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world ... Our aim is to build and preserve a community of free and independent nations, with governments that answer to their citizens, and reflect their own cultures. And because democracies respect their own people and their neighbors, the advance of freedom will lead to peace." [5] A regular device of recent State of the Union Addresses is to use special guests to illustrate points. This address included an embrace between the parents of a Marine killed in Iraq, and an Iraqi woman, Safia Taleb al-Suhail, who took part in the recent Iraqi election, 11 years after her own father was murdered by Saddam Hussein's intelligence services.
Bush did have a legislative success in February when the Congress passed and he signed the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. Similar bills had been stalled by filibusters in his first term.
President's Trip to Europe
President Bush began his crucial European tour on February 20 in hopes of repairing relations between Europe and the U.S. His five-day trip began in Brussels and concluded in Slovakia where he met with virtually every prominent politician on the continent: Jacques Chirac, Gerhard Schröder, Viktor Yushchenko, Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi, members of the European Council, NATO heads of states, and completed with Vladimir Putin. After Brussels, President Bush stopped in Mainz, Germany, where he dined with U.S. troops based near Wiesbaden. Bush ultimately arrived for the conclusive Slovakia Summit for a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Bush's celebrated arrival to Slovakia — marking the first time a sitting U.S. President visited Slovakia — was greeted by Slovakian Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda and President Ivan Gašparovič.
Bush continued to warm relations with critical allies following the trip, notably through meetings with new leaders Stephen Harper of Canada in March and Angela Merkel of Germany in January.
Bolton Nomination
On March 7 Bush nominated John Bolton as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Congressional Democrats and Republican George Voinovich filibustered the nomination, claiming the Bush administration was withholding important documents from Bolton's service in the Department of Defense. On August 1 Bush appointed Bolton to the position during a congressional recess.
Energy Plan
On April 15, Bush called for an energy plan to be developed by Congress. After lengthy negotiations between the House and Senate, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 passed. Although it included large subsidies for the oil, coal, nuclear, and natural gas industries and weakened many environmental protections, Bush touted the provisions that maintained a wind tax credit and conservation and efficiency incentives. Despite pressure from Bush and Alaska's senators, environmentalists were able to keep drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge out of the bill. Bush signed it into law on August 8.
2006 State of the Union Address
In Bush's 2006 State of the Union Address, delivered on January 31, he declared, "America is addicted to oil" [6] and announced his Advanced Energy Initiative to increase alternative energy research. While keeping with many of the same priorities and achievements he outlined in his previous address, Bush touted elections in Egypt and the Palestinian territories and praised reform in Saudi Arabia.
Fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
Bush launched a public relations campaign prior to the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on American soil. In a series of speeches, President Bush spoke more openly about his the American interrogation program, touted progress in the War on Terror, declared the Iraq War central to it, and shifted Bush's rhetoric from portraying the Iraq War as the cornerstone of a transformational change to democracy in the Middle East to the battleground in a broader global conflict with Islamic extremism comparable to the fight against Nazi fascism in World War II.
On September 11, 2006, the United States and relatives of the victims commemorated the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on American soil. President Bush visited the sites of the attacks, laying a wreath with First Lady Laura Bush at the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania in which United Flight 93 crashed. Bush later that day delivered a prime-time speech from the Oval Office, proclaiming the War on Terror the "ideological struggle of the 21st century and the calling of our generation" and a "struggle for civilization." [7] While conceding the misconceived link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, supported by the conclusion of a U.S. Senate report released on September 8, [8] he said Hussein's regime posed a "clear threat" that justified a war that he said has made the world safer. [7] Bush was resolute that changing direction in Iraq would be tantamount to giving in to terrorists like Osama bin Laden whom he said sees the Iraq War as "The Third World War". [7]
Mid-term elections
President Bush lent his views to a few controversies that would potentially shape the mid-term elections, held on November 7, 2006. On October 11 Bush called "disgusting" Mark Foley's actions in the congressional page scandal [9] and said the Republicans would retain control of Congress in the 2006 congressional elections despite the scandal. [10] On October 31 Bush responded to Senator John Kerry's "botched joke." [11] On October 30 the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee said, You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." [11] Bush countered, "The senator's suggestion that the men and women of our military are somehow uneducated is insulting and shameful. The men and women who serve in our all-volunteer armed forces are plenty smart and are serving because they are patriots -- and Senator Kerry owes them an apology." [11] Kerry initially refused to apologize, saying, "The White House's attempt to distort my true statement is a remarkable testament to their abject failure in making America safe. It's a stunning statement about their willingness to reduce anything in America to raw politics." [11] Kerry caved in to bipartisan pressure and apologized the next day on November 1.
Bush also went on the campaign trail, stressing that the Republicans were strong on national security and would keep taxes low, unlike the Democrats.
But Bush's tone changed accordingly when the Republicans lost the majority of state governorships and control of both houses of the bicameral legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate, to the Democrats. The next day, on November 8, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned. Rumsfeld, who had endured several calls for his resignation but had won what many thought was an assurance of his job security as recently as November 1 by Bush's voiced confidence in his job performance, [12] will serve until the confirmation of his successor, whom Bush nominated that day to be former CIA Director Robert Gates. Bush spoke about these developments in a press conference. Regarding the elections, he said, "Look, this was a close election. If you look at race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a thumping...I'm obviously disappointed with the outcome of the election, and as the head of the Republican Party, I share a large part of the responsibility. I told my party's leaders that it is now our duty to put the elections behind us and work together with the Democrats and independents on the great issues facing this country." [13] Bush highlighted bipartisan efforts in the past: "we had some pretty good success early on in this administration. We got the No Child Left Behind Act passed, which was an important part of bipartisan legislation. We got some tax cuts passed with Democrat votes", adding later that the prospects of immigration reform are improved under a Democratic-led Congress. [13] He also said, "I knew we were going to lose seats, I just didn't know how many... I thought when it was all said and done, the American people would understand the importance of taxes and the importance of security." [13] Regarding the Defense Secretary post, he said he made the decision based on the consent from Rumsfeld, whom he said appreciated "the value of bringing in a fresh perspective during a critical period in this war [in Iraq]", and Gates from speaking to them on election day, and that the change would have happened regardless of the outcome of the elections. [13] While affirming the United States' commitment to the mission in Iraq through statements to U.S. enemies, U.S. troops, and the Iraqi people, he said he was "looking forward" to the suggestions of the Iraq Study Group, of which Gates was a member at the time, on U.S. policy in Iraq. [13]
Domestic policy
Euthanasia
A debate over euthanasia concerning the fate of Terri Schiavo resulted in the Palm Sunday Compromise, in which the Senate and House of Representatives passed bill S. 686 3-0 and 203-58, respectively, from March 20 into early March 21, promptly after which Bush signed the bill into law. S. 686 moved Schiavo's case into a federal court. Schiavo's feeding tube was removed for a third and final time on March 18 and she died on March 31.
Hurricane Katrina
During a working vacation Bush left his ranch two days early following criticism of a slow and inadequate response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in late August 2005. On August 30 2005, Bush received additional criticism when photographed playing a guitar he was presented with by countrysinger Mark Wills during a speech at California's Naval Base Coronado. The administration also faced mounting complaints about the ongoing occupation of Iraq, which some saw as draining much needed manpower and resources needed in the United States during disasters. Bush also faced criticism from fiscal conservatives and those who felt the disaster relief efforts came too late when Bush signed into law a flurry of legislation, including the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to Meet Immediate Needs Arising From the Consequences of Hurricane Katrina, Second Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to Meet Immediate Needs Arising From the Consequences of Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Flexibility for Displaced Workers Act, Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005, QI, TMA, and Abstinence Programs Extension and Hurricane Katrina Unemployment Relief Act of 2005, and the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. Some pundits observed that these recovery activities illustrated Bush's compassionate conservatism, giving opportunities to the needy through a public works overhaul that included emergency aid and incentives to work. In a vague answer to his critics, on September 13, shortly after Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown, with whom the Bush administration feuded in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, resigned on September 12, Bush said on September 13, "[T]o the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." [14]
Approaching the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, on August 23, President Bush met with Rockey Vaccarella, a St. Bernard Parish resident and Katrina survivor who drove his FEMA trailer to the White House to thank the president for providing mobile homes to victims.
Supreme Court and Fed appointments
Bush enjoyed successful nominations to the Supreme Court and Federal Reserve toward the end of the first year in his second term. After Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's July 1 announcement of her retirement, Bush nominated D.C. Circuit judge John Roberts to take her seat. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died on September 3, however, and on September 5 Bush withdrew Roberts's associate justice nomination to instead have him considered for the vacant chief justice seat, with O'Connor agreeing to stay on the Supreme Court until the confirmation of her replacement; the Senate confirmed Roberts's nomination with a 78-22 vote on September 29. On October 3 Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor, but following controversy over her judicial and conservative credentials, on October 27 Miers asked Bush to withdraw her nomination, which he did later that day. On October 31, 2005 Bush nominated Third Circuit judge Samuel Alito to replace O'Connor. Alito was confirmed on January 31, 2006 on a 58-42 vote. Bush's choice to replace Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, however, won relatively smooth confirmation. Following Bush's October 24 nomination of Bernanke, the Senate Banking Committee recommended Bernanke's confirmation by a 13-1 voice vote on November 16. The full Senate confirmed Bernanke on January 31, 2006 by another voice vote, and Bernanke was sworn in on February 1.
Illegal immigration
In response to the massive immigration protests following bill H.R. 4437 and the subsequent intense debate within and beyond Congress, Bush proposed sweeping legislation that would include a guest worker program, path to citizenship, and increased border security. Bush, who has faced opposition from fellow Republicans on the illegal immigration issue, announced on May 15, 2006 that he would dispatch the National Guard to the United States-Mexico border as an immediate solution. [15] On May 25 the Senate approved bill S. 2611 that would create comprehensive immigration reform consistent with Bush's proposal. On October 26 Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006, authorizing the construction of a 700-mile fence along the 1,951-mile United States-Mexico border.
White House shakeup
Main article:White House shakeup
To revitalize the administration with fresh ideas and improve relations with the press, Bush's cabinet and executive office underwent what major media outlets and Bush himself have called the White House shakeup. [16] Joshua Bolten succeeded Andy Card as White House Chief of Staff on April 14 following the latter's resignation on March 28. Bush gave Bolten his confidence to make staff changes, and Bolten requested that anyone considering resigning soon should do so now. On April 19 White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan announced he would resign upon his replacement, and Tony Snow took on press secretary duties on May 8. Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove moved his focus to the fall mid-term elections on April 19 but retained his titles and offices. Although those changes received the most attention, Dirk Kempthorne replaced Gale Norton as Secertary of the Interior on May 26, Henry Paulson replaced John Snow as Secretary of the Treasury on July 10, and Mary Peters replaced Norm Mineta, who resigned on July 7, as Secretary of Transportation on September 30.
Marriage
With Bush's backing, the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment was subjected to rigorous debate in Congress. With a 49-48 short of the 60 required for a cloture motion in the Senate, on June 7 the amendment failed to pass.
Stem Cell Research
In July 2006 Bush used his first Presidential veto on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would have expanded federal funding of stem cell research. A similar bill was passed in the House of Representatives in January 2007 per Nancy Pelosi's 100-Hour Plan. However, the votes were not high enough to override Bush's possible veto. Two-thirds of the vote are required to override a presidential veto.
School violence
On October 10 Bush held a conference on school safety in response to recent school shootings in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
Economy
On October 11 Bush celebrated [17] fiscal year 2006's budget deficit of $236 billion. Using his administration's estimate for fiscal year 2004 of a $521 billion estimate compared to the actual deficit of $412 billion, Bush said that he had delivered on his promise to cut the decifit in half by 2009 three years early. [18]
National security and presidential power controversies
CIA leak scandal
In mid July, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief political advisors, Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby respectively, came under fire for revealing the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame to reporters in the CIA leak scandal. Libby resigned on October 28, hours after his indictment by a grand jury on multiple counts of perjury, false statements, and obstruction in this case. In November Bush ordered that his staff take mandatory briefings on ethical behavior and handling of classified information.
Interrogation
On October 5, 2005, the McCain Detainee Amendment, which sought to outlaw inhumane treatment of prisoners by restricting interrogation methods to the confines of the U.S. Army Field Manual on Interrogation passed through the Senate on a 90-9 vote. On December 15, 2005, President Bush announced that he would "make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad."[19] Bush clarified his interpretation of the legislation on December 30th, 2005, in a signing statement, reserving what he interpreted to be his presidential constitutional authority in order to avoid further terrorist attacks.[20] The amendment, which critics said had no power to stop the U.S. military from torturing terrorist suspects, followed years of reports of torture in overseas prisons, most infamously the abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison. Relatedly, a report of CIA secret prisons in a November 2, 2005 Washington Post article generated further controversy.
In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld the Supreme Court rebuffed the administration on the issue of detainee rights, ruling the military commissions at the Guantánamo Bay detainment camp illegal and pressuring the interrogation program to reform.
President Bush on September 6 acknowledged that the United States confines terrorists to jail cells overseas through a secret CIA interrogation program. Conceding the program's wide prior disclosure, Bush noted in a televised interview with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, "Everybody knows that, but I'm now formally announcing it." [21] Bush denied that detainees are tortured but declared the interrogative techniques effective: "I cannot describe the specific methods used — I think you understand why ... But I can say the procedures were tough, and they were safe, and lawful and necessary ... Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al-Qaida and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland", he said, releasing declassified information about intelligence gained from captured terrorists. [22] The president announced the transfer of fourteen high-profile terrorist suspects, including the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks and architects of the USS Cole bombing and U.S. Embassy bombings, from secret prisons to the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp for trial. Bush called on Congress to swiftly pass legislation legalizing the use of military commissions for trials of terrorist suspects.
On September 21, Bush bridged an impasse on negotiations for legislation on the treatment of terrorist suspects that was formed when Republican Senators John Warner, the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, decorated Vietnam War veteran John McCain, and Armed Services and Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham broke with the party line with Bush's plan announced on September 6; former Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell also voiced his opposition to the program. In the agreement, Bush made concessions on the harshness of the language but he said it "preserves the single most potent tool we have in protecting America and foiling terrorist attacks." [23] On September 28 and September 29 the Senate and House respectively passed different versions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which Bush signed into law on October 17. [24] It creates military commissions to try suspected terrorists and allow the president to determine the legality of interrogation techniques so long as they do not constitute clear abuse of the Geneva Conventions.
Cheney hunting incident
On February 11 Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot his friend Harry Whittington in the face in a hunting incident. Cheney did not speak about the incident until his interview with Fox News Channel's Brit Hume on February 15. In Bush's first public comments about the incident on February 16, Bush said, "I thought the vice president handled the issue just fine. Yesterday when he was here in the Oval Office I saw the deep concern he had about a person who he wounded. I thought yesterday’s explanation was a very strong and important explanation to make to the American people.” [25] Bush also stated that Democrats who found the incident suggestive of a White House penchant for secrecy drew “the wrong conclusion about a tragic accident.” [25]
Port security
In February Dubai Ports World's purchase of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which operated major U.S. port facilities in New York City, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Miami, grew imminent. Bipartisan opposition to the takeover ensued, with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert questioning the deal and Frist threatening to block it. The White House said that Bush did not know of the transaction until it had been approved by his administration [26] but Bush, who has proposed the creation of a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013, implemented free trade agreements with Jordan, Morocco, and Bahrain and signed one with Oman, and built relations with such Middle Eastern nations as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan, on February 22 threatened to veto any legislation that would block the deal, saying, "It would send a terrible signal to friends and allies not to let this transaction go through." [27] On February 23, Dubai Ports World volunteered to postpone the takeover to convince Congress and the public that the deal would pose no additional security threat to the United States. The company said on March 3 that it would transfer its operations of American ports to a "U.S. entity" after congressional leaders reportedly told Bush of the improbability of Congress's approval of the deal. [28] According to a report on June 19, however, Dubai Ports World still owned and controlled operations at 22 U.S. ports. [29]
Domestic surveillance
Senator Arlen Specter, the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has led challenges to the administration over its stance on the NSA warrantless wiretapping program, and on August 17 U.S. District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled the program unconstitutional in ACLU v. NSA; the federal government subsequently appealed the decision.
Signing statements
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Specter and the American Bar Association have challenged Bush's practice of issuing signing statements.
United States Attorneys
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The administration has come under criticism for memoranda and Senate testimony revealing potentialy politically motivated dismissals of United States Attorneys and efforts to use of the expanded appointment powers of the United States Attorney General (permitted by the USA PATRIOT Act) to diminish Senate influence in monitoring and confirming appointments to vacant U.S. Attorney offices.
Foreign policy
Iraq War
Bush remains committed to the Iraq War, acknowledging on August 21 that it was "straining the psyche of our country" and would be an issue in the fall congressional elections, but said that the United States would remain in Iraq throughout his presidency. [30]
In 2005, the Iraq War persisted during a year in which Iraq underwent revolutionary democratic reforms. True to a Bush campaign promise, on January 30 Iraq held its first general election since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, in which the Iraqi people voted on representatives for the Iraqi National Assembly. On December 15 Iraqis elected the first permanent assembly under the Constitution of Iraq, which was ratified on October 15.
But the direction and stability of Iraq remain contentious. In August 2005, during what was termed a 'working vacation' at Bush's ranch outside Crawford, Texas, Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan, an American casualty in Iraq, led a demonstration in opposition to the Iraq War at the peace camp Camp Casey outside the ranch, sparking assembly in the town by both supporters and detractors of the war. In Iraq,
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, elected the first post-invasion Prime Minister of Iraq in the December 2005 legislative election, faced calls for his resignation from Sunni and Kurdish Iraqi leaders and the Bush administration pressured al-Jaafari to step down. On April 22, 2006, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, with the White House's support, named Nouri al-Maliki prime-minister delegate. Maliki presented his Cabinet to Parliament on May 20; the seats of Interior Minister and Defense Minister were not permanently filled until June 8. Along with the death of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi on June 7, Bush hailed Iraq's national unity government. Although Maliki, who vowed to crack down on militias upon stepping into office, presented his national reconciliation plan on June 25, and despite the security crackdown in Baghdad begun on June 14 dubbed Operation Forward Together, United States Central Command Commander John Abizaid, with the backing of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace, on August 3 told the Senate Armed Services Committee, "Sectarian violence is probably as bad as I have seen it." [31] On September 3 Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie announced the arrest of second-ranking al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Hamid Juma Faris Jouri al-Saeedi. [32] On September 6 Iraqi National Assembly President Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said that the Iraq must embrace national reconciliation within three to fourth months lest the government fail. [33] On September 7, 8 days after General George Casey said on August 30 that he expected Iraqi forces to take over security operations in 12 to 18 months "with very little Coalition support" [34], coalition forces handed over military command to the Iraq’s naval and air forces and the 8th Iraqi Army Division. [35] On September 19, as Iraqi lawmakers demanded that the defense and interior ministries explain their plans for controlling rampaging Shiite death squads, General Abizaid announced the likelihood of the maintenance of or increase in U.S. troop levels in Iraq through the spring of 2007 or as needed. [36] On September 24 Iraqi politicians agreed to consider a federalism bill that would allow some regional self-rule, as al-Maliki pled for peace a day before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan would began. [37] On September 26 Bush disputed the implications of and declassified parts of a leaked National Intelligence Estimate report that assessed, "The Iraq conflict has become the 'cause celebre' for jihadists", [38] that appeared in media reports [39][40] on September 24; emphasizing the report's conclusion that the Iraq War is central to the "global jihadist movement" [38] as reason to fight the war, Bush challenged Democrats who interpreted the report as saying the war has increased terrorism and decreased American safety. On September 27 a senior U.S. military official said that Iraqi Shiite militias have cooperated with the Iranian Badr Organization in killing thousands of Sunni Arabs in the country. [41] On October 2 Maliki announced a four-point plan to stem sectarian violence through the unity of Sunni and Shiite parties in his government, as it extended Iraq's state of emergency for a month and the country suffered two massive kidnappings on consecutive days. [42] On October 11 Bush rejected as uncredible [17] a report that Iraqi deaths have totaled 655,000 from the war [43], and United States Army Chief of Staff General Peter Schoomaker said that the U.S. military is planning to retain current troop levels in Iraq through 2010. [44] Bush met with military commanders and Cabinet secretaries to discuss policy in Iraq on October 21, a day after saying, "[T]he tactics are constantly changing." [45] On October 24 U.S. officials said that Iraqi leaders have agreed to develop a security and political timetable by year's end and General Casey said that Iraq will take responsible for its security with U.S. support within twelve to eighteen months. [46] On October 25 Bush said that he was "not satisfied" with "the situation in Iraq" and "The ultimate accountability rests with me. If people are unhappy about it, look right to the president", but "absolutely we're winning" the Iraq War. [47] On October 28, hours after an Maliki aide quote the Iraqi prime minister as saying, "I am not America's man in Iraq", Bush and Maliki said they were "committed to the partnership" and agreed in the goals of speeding up the training, Iraqi control, and national control of security of Iraq's security forces. [48] On November 5, former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein, who had been tried for murdering 143 Shiites from Dujail in retaliation for the failed assassination attempt against him of July 8, 1982, was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity. Bush hailed the conviction, saying, "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law -- it's a major achievement for Iraq's young democracy and its constitutional government. [49] A series of attacks in Sadr City on November 23 killed at least 215 people and injured 257 others, making it the deadliest attack in the Iraq War's history.
Bush participated in a flurry of activity on the war weeks after the mid-term elections. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned on November 8 in the immediate aftermath of the elections, to be replaced by Robert Gates, whose term will begin on December 18. Gates has said in his confirmation hearings that he will continue to try to transform the U.S. military into a light, robust force to deal with twenty-first century changes and has been open to significant changes to U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to a report by The New York Times on December 2, Rumsfeld wrote a classified dated November 6 that also said current U.S. strategy in Iraq is not working and requires major adjustments. On November 29 30 Parliament lawmakers and 6 Cabinent ministers loyal to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr boycotted the Iraq government to protest a planned meeting between Bush and Maliki that day; Maliki called on an end to the boycott on November 30. Bush and Maliki met in Amman, Jordan for crisis talks but a three-way dinner between the leaders and Jordan's King Abdullah was cancelled, reportedly because of a November 8 memo by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley leaked by the The New York Times expressing doubts about Maliki's ability to rein in Iraq's militias and secure the country. Bush and Maliki met with Abdullah separately, who was concerned about Iran's growing influence in Iraq. During the meeting between Bush and Maliki on November 30, Maliki said that Iraq would be able to assume command of its security forces by June 2007, Bush agreed to speed up the turnover of responsibility for security, and both leaders agreed that Iraq not be partitioned. Reports would surface that the Iraq government is in talks to replace Maliki and bring in a coalition against al-Sadr, but the White House has denied a bid to oust the Iraq PM. Bush met with Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. On December 5 Maliki, who had rejected UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's request for a peace conference on Iraq because it would have been held outside the country, said Iraq would hold a regional conference with its neighbors, a development the White House welcomed. On December 6 the Iraq Study Group released its Report, which called for conditional phased withdrawal of U.S. troops, a conditional American transition from a leading to a supporting role, and for talks with Iraqi neighbors Iran, with which Iraq signed a security agreement on November 29, and Syria; Talabani decried the report on December 10. Bush met with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who asked for a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, on December 12. Bush, who has acknowledged the grave situation in Iraq, said on December 13 that he would not rush to make a decision for a "new way forward" there.
War in Afghanistan
Bush also continues to stress the priority of the Afghanistan War, on September 29 declaring, "As Afghans have braved the terrorists and claimed their freedom, we've helped them, and we will continue to help them. It's in our interests that we help this young democracy survive and grow strong." [50] Nevertheless, the February arrest of Abdul Rahman, a convert from Islam to Christianity, offered a sobering look at Afghanistan's stunted social and democratic reforms. Although the Afghan court, under international pressure, notably including that from the Bush administration, turned over the case to prosecutors on March 26 and released Rahman on March 27, the arrest exhibited a lingering conflict between the Constitution of Afghanistan's recognition of freedom of religion, albeit limited, and its inclusion of the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence, which stipulates the death penalty for apostasy. In response to the ongoing Taliban insurgency, the U.S.-led coalition launched Operation Mountain Thrust from about May 15 to July 31. With NATO forces assuming control of the region on August 1, violence continued to wage and American forces remained in the eastern provinces. Bush said that the Taliban, whose refusal to cooperate against al-Qaeda he said led to Operation Enduring Freedom, "understand that the arrival of Afghan and coalition forces in the region means that the government is beginning to win the hearts of the people", and "saw the transfer of the region from the United States to NATO control as a window of opportunity." [50] NATO-led forces began Operation Medusa on September 2 to route out insurgents in the Panjwaye and Zhari districts; [51] the offensive finished on September 17. On September 8 a car bomb in the capital of Kabul killed sixteen people, the highest death toll from a suicide attack since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. [52] On September 10 Provincial Governor Hakim Taniwal of Paktia was assassinated by a suicide bomber on the same day that NATO said it made its biggest offensive against the Taliban, killing nearly 100 insurgents. [53] Operation Mountain Fury was launched on September 16 to route out insurgents in Afghanistan's eastern provinces. Yet amid what international news reports, [54][55][56] partisan [57][58] and nonpartisan [59] think tanks, the U.S. military, [60] and the Afghan government [61] have called a Taliban resurgence, Bush said that the Afghan National Police "have faced problems with corruption and substandard leadership", but "[a]s the police become more capable, and better led, and more disciplined, they will gain legitimacy and they will earn the respect of the Afghan people." [50] Underscoring the delicate security situation in Afghanistan, British General David Richards, who commands NATO's International Security Assistance Force, said on October 8, "By this time next year I would understand if a lot of Afghans, down in the south in particular, said to us all, 'Listen, you're failing year after year at delivering the improvements which you have promised to us. And if you don't do something about it,' that 70 percent or so will start saying, 'Come on, we'd rather have the Taliban,'" adding, "We're at a tipping point" and "next year could be much better." [62]
Afghani-Pakistani relations are critically important to the War in Afghanistan. On September 22 Bush held a joint conference with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in which the presidents hailed their alliance in the War on Terror but sidestepped Musharraf's claim made on September 21 that the U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan "back to the Stone Age" if the country did not aide the U.S. in the global conflict. [63] On September 24 Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that if the money spent on the Iraq War went to Afghanistan, his country would "be in heaven in less than one year". [64] The presidential neighbors' comments came ahead of a September 26 three-way talk between the heads of state.
Iran
Iran has drawn international attention through what has been called the Iranian nuclear crisis, announcing on April 11, 2006 that it had enriched uranium and on August 26, five days before the Security Council's August 31 deadline for Iran to abandon its nuclear program or risk facing economic and political sanctions, inaugurated a heavy-water nuclear reactor. On August 31 the U.N. declared that Iran had not complied with the deadline, while Iran reiterated its interest in reopening talks. On December 23 the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1737 imposing sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. In response, Iran said hours later that it would install 3,000 centrifuges in a uranium enrichment plant for what it continues to insist is civilian purposes.
North Korea
North Korea launched missile tests on July 5, leading to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1695. The country said on October 3, "The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test", which the Bush administration has denied and denounced. [65] Following North Korea's claimed nuclear test on October 9 (it was confirmed by the Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte's office on October 16), [66] Bush said, "The United States condemns this provocative act. Once again North Korea has defied the will of the international community, and the international community will respond." [67] Indeed, other Security Council members and neighbors of North Korea were quick to release statements of their own. [68] On October 11 Bush said that the United States will seek to severely punish but not attack North Korea, shortly after Kim Jung-il has said he will consider any further provocation by the U.S. an act of war. [17] On October 14 the Security Council voted unanimously to sanction North Korea for the claimed test; North Kora immediately rejected the UN resolution. [69] On October 31 North Korea agreed to join six-party talks; of the diplomatic breakthrough Bush said, "I am pleased and I want to thank the Chinese." [70]
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Hamas' refusal to comply with the demand of the U.S., Israel, and the European Union to disarm, recognize Israel, and denounce terror following the group's winning a majority of seats in the January Palestinian legislative election and the return to violence between it and Israel months later inflamed the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and detracted from the road map for peace, which was first proposed by Bush. Yet the Bush administration still considers Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas a peace partner. In a September 20 meeting with the Palestinian leader, Bush called Abbas, who was unsuccessfully trying to form a coalition government with Hamas that met the Quartet's demands for peace and recognition of Israel, a "man of peace". [71]
Israel-Lebanon conflict
The warfare between Israel and Lebanon disturbed the attention on the Iranian nuclear crisis. President Bush supported the Israelis on the basis that Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization, started the fight and Israel had the right to defend itself and live in peace. To this end, Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice resisted U.N. and international efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire, desiring a sustaining resolution to the conflict and not a return to the status quo. Bush and Rice demanded an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as a precondition to the end of the fighting, and repeated that Iran and Syria must stop funding or otherwise sponsoring Hezbollah. This strong stance created a rift among Arab leaders, especially Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt due to domestic pressure to support Hezbollah. The issue also created a breakage between some European allies, especially France, although United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, unanimously approved on August 11 to end the fighting and approved respectively by the Lebanese and Israeli governments on August 12 and August 13 with Hezbollah's support, was based on a draft initially proposed by the United States and France.
Global literacy
Bush on September 18, 2006 spoke at the White House Conference on Literacy, hosted in New York by First Lady Laura Bush, at which he said, "The simple act of teaching a child to read or an adult to read has the capacity to transform nations and yield the peace we all want. You can't realize the blessings of liberty if you can't read a ballot." [72]
UN speech
In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly on September 19, 2006, Bush, while challenging the Middle East to push for reform and choose freedom over extremism, sought to reassure Muslims that the West is not at war with Islam but "respect[s]" [73] the religion and wants peace, and Iraqis of the American commitment to their security. He also pressed the Iranian government to end its nuclear program, addressing his concerns also to the Iranian people. Explaining that a peaceful and liberated Middle East not only builds Western security but also passes onto the region's people the blessings of liberty, Bush said that democratic transformations take time, the extent to which he admitted a miscalculation, saying "the stability we thought we saw in the Middle East was a mirage". [73] The speech came at a challenging time for the United States in the court of world opinion and was greeted with both receptive and politically charged reactions, notably Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's speech on September 20 in which he called Bush "the devil". [74]
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