Bush says U.S. seeks to shape world

http://english.people.com.cn/200603/...17_251265.html

3/17/2006

U.S. President said on Thursday that the United States seeks to shape the world, not merely shaped by it, and "to influence events instead of being at their mercy."

In the National Security Strategy report released on Thursday, Bush said the country was at war, and termed the strategy as "a wartime national security strategy" required by the rise of terrorism.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the United States has kept on the offensive against terrorist networks, "leaving our enemy weakened, but not yet defeated," and has seen "great accomplishments," he said.

In an effort to appease the American public's rising opposition to the Iraq war that has killed over 2,300 U.S. soldiers, the president said "the defense of freedom brings us loss and sorrow, because freedom has determined enemies."

"We have always known that the war on terror would required great sacrifices - and in this war, we have said farewell to some very good men and women," he said.

In the report, the second during Bush's presidency, Bush said the United States now faces "a choice between the path of fear and the path of confidence."

He described "the path of fear" as isolationism and protectionism, retreat and retrenchment" which he said appeals to people who find the challenges too great and fail to see the opportunities.

The administration has chosen the path of confidence, by choosing "leadership over isolationism, and the pursuit of free and fair trade ad open markets over protectionism," he said.

"We choose to deal with challenges now rather than leaving them for future generations. We fight our enemies abroad instead of waiting for them to arrive in our country," he said.

To follow the path of confidence, Bush said, the United States must maintain and expand its national strength, and maintain "a military without peer."