President Bush told Americans that "our war against terror is only beginning" and sent new warnings to terrorists around the world, as well as set a path for curing the recession-bound economy in his first State of the Union speech on Tuesday night.
Bush's address was his biggest speech of the new year, an a ttempt to use his wartime popularity to advance his war aims of defeating terrorism beyond Afghanistan and his domestic agenda: a prescription drug plan for senior citizens, patients rights protections and a stimulus plan to create jobs and jump-start the economy with corporate tax breaks opposed by many Democrats.
The following are key points of President George W. Bush's first State of Union address delivered before the US Congress in Washington Tuesday.
. War on Terror
"Our discoveries in Afghanistan confirmed our worst fears, and show us the true scope of the task ahead. We have found diagrams of American nuclear power plants and public water facilities. Detailed instructions for making chemical weapons ... surveillance maps of American cities, and thorough descriptions of landmarks in America and throughout the world.
"America and Afghanistan are now allies against terror... we will be partners in rebuilding that country... and this evening we welcome the distinguished interim leader of a liberated Afghanistan^"Thanks to the work of our law enforcement officials and coalition partners, hundreds of terrorists have been arrested, yet tens of thousands of trained terrorists are still at large. We must prevent the terrorists and regimes who seek chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons from threatening the United States and the world.
"Our military has put the terror training camps of Afghanistan out of business, yet camps still exist in at least a dozen countries. A terrorist underworld - including groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Jaish-i-Mohammed - operates in remote jungles and deserts, and hides in the centers of large cities.
. Defense budget
"My budget includes the largest increase in defense spending in two decades... because while the price of freedom and security is high, it is never too high - whatever it costs to defend our country, we will pay it.
. Homeland security
"My budget nearly doubles funding for a sustained strategy of homeland security, focused on four key areas: bioterrorism, emergency response, airport and border security, and improved intelligence. We will develop vaccines to fight anthrax and other deadly diseases. We will increase funding to help states and communities train and equip our heroic police and firefighters.
. Economic security
"Once we have funded our national security and our homeland security, the final great priority of my budget is economic security for the American people.
"To achieve these great national objectives - to win the war, protect the homeland, and revitalize our economy - our budget will run a deficit that will be small and short term so long as Congress restrains spending and acts in a fiscally responsible way. We have clear priorities and we must act at home with the same purpose and resolve we have shown overseas.
"The way out of this recession, the way to create jobs, is to grow the economy by encouraging investment in factories and equipment, and by speeding up tax relief so people have more money to spend. For the sake of American workers, let's pass a stimulus package.
"Good jobs also depend on reliable and affordable energy. This Congress must act to encourage conservation, promote technology, build infrastructure, and it must act to increase energy production at home so America is less dependent on foreign oil.
"Good jobs depend on expanded trade. Sellingsintosnew markets creates new jobs, so I ask Congress to finally approve Trade Promotion Authority. On these two key issues, trade and energy, the House of Representatives has acted to create jobs, and I urge the Senate to pass this legislation.
"Through stricter accounting standards and tougher disclosure requirements, corporate America must be made more accountable to employees and shareholders and held to the highest standards of conduct.
. Threat from so-called "rogue" states such as Iran, Iraq, North Korea
"Our second goal is to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction.
"States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world, Bush said, citing Iran, Iraq and North Korea
"We will work closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver weapons of mass destruction. We will develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect America and our allies from sudden attack. And all nations should know.
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